: Amid recent issues involving contradicting statements by Congress leaders and controversies surrounding a section of them pushing for a triple-digit seat-sharing formula similar to 2017 – when the Congress was offered 105 seats in alliance with the Samajwadi Party – SP national president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday emphasised the alliance with the Congress and underlined the opposition’s experience in forging partnerships. Akhilesh Yadav also confirmed his participation in the Nov 1 rally of the India bloc at Ram Lila Maidan in Delhi.
The SP national president stated that he knows how to live by the gathbandhan dharma and that his party is committed to gathbandhan dharma. He noted that the parties have already been in alliance and that the experience of senior leadership would strengthen the partnership further. Brushing aside the seat-sharing controversies (numbers remain unfixed), he pointed out that Samajwadi Party leaders have been focused on winnability. Akhilesh Yadav’s remarks came amid ongoing discussions on seat-sharing arrangements within the INDIA bloc, particularly with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh. He projected the alliance as a force experienced in coalition politics and determined to present a united challenge to the ruling BJP.
Congress leaders, particularly Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam, have publicly pressed for a substantially larger share of seats in the alliance with the Samajwadi Party for the 2027 Assembly elections. Meanwhile, the SP national president confirmed that he and his party would join the INDIA alliance’s mega rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on November 1.
“We gave a formula earlier, and we will give a formula now too: our alliance will become even stronger,” Yadav said, signalling confidence that the INDIA bloc partnership would consolidate further ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Gautam has repeatedly called for “equal share and equal respect,” stating that Congress – as the country’s oldest and largest party – should get around 200 seats (roughly half of the 403 Assembly constituencies) and clarifying that earlier references to 150 seats were understated. Other leaders, including Saharanpur MP Imran Masood, have echoed the demand for a “respectable” or triple-digit allocation, citing the Congress’s improved showing of six Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2024. “We will also participate in the rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1,” he announced. The rally, organised under the banner of “Save Votes – Save the Nation,” was called by opposition leaders to protest alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and demand action against the Election Commission.
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow on Monday, Akhilesh Yadav stressed commitment to “gathbandhan dharma.
