There is no agreement yet on seats between SP and Congress in Uttar Pradesh. It was being claimed in political circles that Congress has asked for 200 seats, but on Saturday, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav himself told how many seats Congress has asked for?
Akhilesh Yadav is moving forward on the mantra of victory, not seat. He says that SP's aim is to remove BJP from power. SP has decided on how many seats to contest. The SP chief revealed that Congress has staked claim on 181 seats. He had reached HT Leadership Summit 2026 on Friday.
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100 is very less: Akhilesh
When he was asked that if the Congress party asked for 100 seats… Akhilesh Yadav replied, '100 is very less than what you have said.' Akhilesh Yadav further said, 'Congress party and our relations are very good. The seats he has asked for now are more than what you are telling me. When he was asked whether he had asked for Rs. 200? Akhilesh says- 'A little less than that.' Again it is asked that 180… In response, the SP President says, 'Add one more to 180.'
Why is SP-Congress alliance important in UP?
Congress had fought the last assembly elections in UP on its own. Despite all efforts, the party won only two assembly seats. Among them, Aradhana Mishra 'Mona' from Rampur Khas seat of Pratapgarh and Virendra Chaudhary from Farenda seat of Maharajganj had reached the assembly. Whereas in 2017, the party had won seven assembly seats. This means that instead of improving, the performance of Congress had worsened in five years.
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Talking about Samajwadi Party, in 2017 it had won 47 seats. This figure will increase to 111 in 2022. Meaning, SP's performance was much better than Congress. Congress was last in power in UP in 1989. Whereas SP's departure took place in 2017. Both the parties contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in alliance. Its effect was also visible.
The SP and Congress alliance won 43 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats. Congress alone won six seats, whereas in 2019 the party had won only Rae Bareli seat. For the first time in its history, SP captured 37 Lok Sabha seats.