"More meetings will be held...INDIA alliance should be strong": Akhilesh Yadav on seat-sharing talks with Congress
Jan 20, 2024
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 20 : A day after announcing an alliance with Rashtriya Lok Dal for the Lok Sabha polls, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav has said that there will be more meetings with Congress to decide on seat-sharing formula in the state and that "INDIA alliance should be strong".
Akhilesh Yadav held a meeting in Lucknow with party leaders who included former MPs, former MLAs and former MLCs. He said winnability is the criterion in decisions on seats.
"We and RLD's Jayant Choudhary had a good conversation. We had discussion regarding seven seats...We are also in conversation with Congress. Several meetings have taken place in Delhi. Very soon, more meetings will be held and a way will be found. INDIA alliance should be strong, the question is not about seats but about victory. On the basis of victory, we all will take a decision together...," he said.
Yadav urged party workers to ensure registration of voters who are supporters of the party in the new voter list.
He accused the BJP government in the state of getting the names of some party workers removed from the list.
"I remember that the Election Commission had given a notice to the Samajwadi Party asking on what basis you have said that your party's votes have been reduced. At that time, the party people had given us a list in which 18,000 votes were deleted in 2022. People who voted in 2019 were not able to vote in 2022. All of them had also complained but the Election Commission had not taken any action. When the new voter list is released, our appeal is that all the members of the organization will help in including the voters of the Samajwadi party in the list," he added.
Congress and the Samajwadi Party have held seat-sharing talks for the Lok Sabha polls expected in April-May this year. "We've shared details of each seat with each other...I hope that the alliance happens before the (Bharat Jodo Nyay) Yatra reaches Uttar Pradesh," Congress leader Salman Khurshid said.
