Samajwadi Party stitches alliance for Lok Sabha polls; Congress to contest 17 seats in UP

New Delhi [India], February 21 : The deadlock over seat sharing in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha election was broken after the Congress and the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday managed to stitch an electoral alliance in the politically crucial state that sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha.
The Samajwadi Party and the Congress are partners in the INDIA bloc.
Calling it a harmonious alliance, party chief Akhilesh Yadav congratulated the leaders of both parties.
"Congratulations to all and best wishes for a harmonious alliance! - To save the Constitution of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar; - To implement Lohia's principle of numerical sharing; - To bring equality by activating socialist values; - To give 90 per cent PDA their rights and for the progress of the country... let's unite," the Samajwadi Party chief posted on X.
Sharing details of the alliance, party leader Ravidas Mehrotra said that the Samajwadi Party will contest elections on 63 seats and Congress on 17 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
"Samajwadi Party and Congress will contest Lok Sabha elections together. This will strengthen the INDIA bloc which will form its government in 2024. The opposition parties will contest the election together. We have tried to stop the scattering of non-BJP votes," Mehrotra told ANI.
"Samajwadi Party will contest elections on 63 seats and Congress on 17 seats. We will try to get all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh," he said.
Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav confirmed an alliance with the Congress, stating that there was no conflict between the two parties, emphasizing that details would be clarified in due course.
"All is well that ends well. Yes, there will be an alliance. There is no conflict. Everything will be out and clear soon," Yadav told reporters on Wednesday.
Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav on Wednesday congratulated the Congress and the Samajwadi Party on the confirmation of seat sharing in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and excluded confidence in winning the polls.
The SP leader said that the party was in support of the alliance from the beginning.
"From the start, the Samajwadi Party wanted the alliance. There was a little bit of delay because BJP is in front of us. I want to congratulate the Samajwadi Party and Congress as the alliance has reached its destination. Its results will be good and people will support us. In the coming election, people will vote for us," Dimple Yadav told ANI.
Alleging that the central government and the current state government in UP have ruined the lives of women, youth, farmers and soldiers, the SP leader said that people in the state people are angry and disappointed.
"There was talk of four pillars in the country: women, youth, farmers and soldiers. But no one is happy. All of them are angry and disappointed. Earlier the children of the farmers used to join the army, and the economy was good, but the Central Government for 10 years and the Government of Uttar Pradesh for about 7 years ruined them all," she said.
Meanwhile, informing about the seat-sharing arrangement in Delhi with Congress, Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday admitted that the agreement on the seat-sharing arrangement should have happened earlier.
"Let's see what happens in the next two to three days. It has been delayed a lot, it should have happened earlier," Kejriwal told reporters.
Both parties are constituents of the opposition bloc INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance).
Congress and the AAP have mutually agreed that in Punjab, they will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election without having an alliance.
"In Punjab, Congress and AAP have mutually agreed to contest the polls separately. There is no hostility over this...We are in talks with the Congress over an alliance in Delhi. We are discussing seat-sharing arrangements. The BJP will have it easy if there is no alliance (between AAP and Congress)," Kejriwal said on Sunday.
However, amid widening the rift in the INDIA bloc, Bahujan Samaj Party Chief Mayawati on Monday reiterated that she has no alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha election and her party will contest the election alone.
"Despite BSP's repeated clear declaration of not forging an alliance with any party in the upcoming Lok Sabha general elections, spreading rumours about alliance every day proves that without BSP, some parties are not going to fare well here, while BSP is not going to do well. The welfare of our people is paramount," the BSP chief posted on X.
"Therefore, keeping in view the interest and welfare of the Sarv Samaj, especially the poor, exploited and neglected, BSP's decision to contest the Lok Sabha general elections on its strength with the body, mind and money of its people across the country is firm. People must be careful of rumours," she added.
Meanwhile, the rift between INDIA bloc ally partners --Trinamool Congress and Congress-- over a seat-sharing agreement in West Bengal continued as CM Banerjee had earlier virtually shut the door on the Congress by making it clear that the TMC would fight alone in Bengal.
"I had no discussions with the Congress party. I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I am not concerned about what will be done in the country but we are a secular party and in Bengal, we will alone defeat BJP," the West Bengal Chief Minister had said.
In Bihar also, Nitish Kumar took the oath as Chief Minister for the ninth time in Raj Bhawan, Patna, ditching the Mahagathbandhan and the opposition bloc INDIA and forming a new government with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
INDIA or 'Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance' is a group of opposition parties, including the Congress. The parties have come together to take on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is led by the BJP, and prevent it from winning a third straight term at the Centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.