Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party has named candidates for seven Uttar Pradesh seats that the Congress currently holds, and a senior leader of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's party said today that seat-sharing has not been finalised yet between the two parties. A formal announcement of their alliance for the UP elections was expected later today. There has so far been talk of the Samajwadi Party wanting to contest 300 of UP's 403 seats and allotting the rest to the Congress. But the party's Kiranmoy Nanda today said the Congress should ideally be given no more than 54 seats to contest.
"Other than that we can give them 30-35 seats... First let the alliance happen," he said, emphasising that, "We haven't received anything from the Congress side yet."
"The Samajwadi Party's key agenda is to defeat the BJP, while the Congress wants to strengthen its position in UP," Mr Nanda said.
There has been speculation that the Samajwadi Party could balance today's seat allotment by giving the Congress more seats to contest in the Rae Bareli and Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituencies of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son and deputy Rahul Gandhi, but Mr Nanda ruled that concession out too. The Samajwadi Party, he pointed out, holds seven out 10 assembly seats in that area, and would field winning candidates from there.
"Other than that we can give them 30-35 seats... First let the alliance happen," he said, emphasising that, "We haven't received anything from the Congress side yet."
"The Samajwadi Party's key agenda is to defeat the BJP, while the Congress wants to strengthen its position in UP," Mr Nanda said.
Advertisement
There has been speculation that the Samajwadi Party could balance today's seat allotment by giving the Congress more seats to contest in the Rae Bareli and Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituencies of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son and deputy Rahul Gandhi, but Mr Nanda ruled that concession out too. The Samajwadi Party, he pointed out, holds seven out 10 assembly seats in that area, and would field winning candidates from there.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
2 Boys, Listening To Songs On Earphones On Railway Track, Run Over By Train In UP UP Train Services Resume At Gonda Accident Site "Attack On Constitution": Priyanka Gandhi Hits Out At Kanwar Yatra Order "Khalistanis Have Polluted Canada," Says Indian-Origin MP After Threats "You Are A Woman, Don't You Know Anything?": Nitish Kumar To RJD MLA World's Most Powerful Passports List Released: Indian Passport Ranks At... Rajasthan MLA Hands Over 'Evidence' Of Paper Leak To Probe Team Haryana Doctors' Body Calls For Strike At Government Hospitals Today "Iran's Useful Idiots": Netanyahu Slams Anti-Israel Protesters In US Speech Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.