Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav.
Will the Samajwadi Party and the Congress jointly contest 9 seats in the Uttar Pradesh by-election? How many seats will be lost if there is a fight? What seats will be available? In this regard, suspense still exists. However, according to information received by TV9 Digital, the picture has become much clearer.
The Samajwadi Party told the Congress that they will have to contest elections on the two seats allotted to them. SP will not come under pressure from UP Congress.
If sources are to be believed, Akhilesh Yadav has spoken to Rahul Gandhi on the phone and said that the Congress should contest the elections in the two seats earmarked for the alliance. If the Congress and the Samajwadi Party do not contest the Uttar Pradesh elections together, the Indian alliance may suffer losses in Uttar Pradesh. In addition, this will also send the wrong message, which will affect the 2027 parliamentary elections.
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Politics of pressure in Congress-SP
However, the state Congress committee has been constantly trying to exert pressure and as part of this effort, it is said that the Congress will not contest the two seats. However, the Samajwadi Party has made it clear that the Congress should remain in the alliance and contest two seats as well.
Akhilesh Yadav has not spoken to any member of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee so far. For this purpose, he has empowered state president and state spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary and Udayveer Singh. Akhilesh Yadav is talking directly to the Congress high command. There are reports that Congress is ready for this.
Infighting between Congress and Socialist Party over seats
Now let us tell you why the Samajwadi Party is not under pressure from the Congress? A senior leader of the Socialist Party, who asked not to be named, said that if the Socialist Party concedes three or four seats under pressure from the Congress party, then they may face consequences in the 2027 parliamentary elections. If the Congress party wins 3 or 4 seats out of the current 9, it will demand the same proportion of seats in the parliamentary elections, which the Socialist Party is unlikely to give given the Congress party’s low victory rate.
The Samajwadi Party wants the Congress to remain in the alliance but in the form of a small partnership. SP strategists feel that Congress does not have its own base in UP. The Congress won seats in the Lok Sabha elections because of the core vote bank of the Samajwadi Party, which currently has only two seats in the current assembly.
The SP believes that the Congress alone cannot create any miracles in the assembly elections. The Samajwadi Party is the force and necessity of the Congress. However, some strategists in the Samajwadi Party believe that the Congress should stay in the Northern Alliance. He has his own logic behind this, arguing that the schism between Dalit and Muslim voters could be avoided due to the presence of the Congress.
SP-Congress alliance benefits in Lok Sabha elections
The Congress and Samajwadi Party also benefit from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In this situation, neither the Samajwadi Party nor the Congress is willing to risk damaging the alliance. Therefore, some say, the Congress may be able to accept the Samajwadi Party’s offer of two seats.
It is now up to the Congress to decide whether the alliance between the Samajwadi Party and the Janata Dal will fall victim to political pressure or proceed only on fixed terms. Congress leaders believe that if they contest the two seats given by the Socialist Party, it will disappoint workers and send the message that the two seats that the Socialist Party cannot win have been left to Congress.
Priyanka Gandhi angry over SP’s stance
Not only that, there are reports that Priyanka Gandhi’s team is also concerned about the Samajwadi Party announcing that it has 6 seats in Uttar Pradesh without holding any meeting and without mutual consent, while the Congress won it because it is an alliance partner Seats were outraged. It should also be announced after secret talks.
Everything that the Samajwadi Party could not win on its own was left to the Congress. The Samajwadi Party has given the Ghaziabad and Khel seats to the Congress. Both seats are believed to be traditional seats of the BJP. Under these circumstances, achieving victory in this by-election will be a difficult task for Congress.
There is also news that in Uttar Pradesh, Congress president Ajay Rai wants his son Shantanu Rai to contest from Majhwan, while he is demanding from Poor Manish Mishra of the Gandhi family of Pulpur. Kundalki seat in Moradabad is also among the five seats demanded by the Congress. However, the Samajwadi Party has also announced candidates for all seats. Samajwadi Party’s Phulpur candidate also filed his nomination today.
