In what comes as yet another setback for the I.N.D.I.A alliance before the General Elections, the seat-sharing talks between the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress have failed to yield any agreement, according to a media report.
A report by India Today suggested that the two parties had disagreements over the allocation of three crucial seats in the Moradabad division, including the Bijnor Lok Sabha seat. The report stated that the SP refused to give the Bijnor Lok Sabha seat to the Congress.
Even before a formal seat-sharing pact was announced, the SP, the main challenger to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh, had already declared candidates for 11 Lok Sabha seats on February 19.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav made it clear that he will join former Congress president and senior leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Rae Bareli only when the seat sharing is finalised. The SP has offered 17 seats to Congress in Uttar Pradesh.
"We have given a final offer of 17 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress. Akhilesh Yadav's participation in the Nyay Yatra in Raebareli on Tuesday will depend on their acceptance," Rajendra Chaudhary, the Samajwadi Party's chief spokesperson, told PTI.
The SP had earlier offered 11 seats to the grand old party, while the Congress' state unit demanded a higher allocation in any seat-sharing agreement.
The Congress managed to win only the Raebareli seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP won 62 seats, with its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) also clinching two seats. The SP-Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) alliance managed to win 15 seats, with SP bagging five and BSP winning 10 seats.
With 80 Lok Sabha constituencies, Uttar Pradesh sends the highest number of MPs to Parliament.
(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)
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