INDIA Bloc takes off as Congress & Samajwadi Party forge alliance in UP & MP for Lok Sabha polls

Congress and Samajwadi Party have officially announced an alliance in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. Under the seat-sharing agreement, SP has given Congress 17 seats in UP and has in return got Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh. The Samajwadi Party will field candidates in the remaining 63 Lok Sabha seats in UP.

Congress has got Raebareli, Amethi, Kanpur Nagar, Fatehpur Sikri, Bansgaon, Saharanpur, Prayagraj, Maharajganj, Varanasi, Amroha, Jhansi, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Sitapur, Barabanki and Deoria in Uttar Pradesh.

The seat-sharing arrangement announced at a joint news conference in Lucknow on Wednesday is the biggest positive news for the Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance so far, after desertions of leaders and parties to BJP and NDA, respectively, in the last two months.


A few hours before the presser, SP president Akhilesh Yadav dropped hints about the alliance in Moradabad saying, "all is well that ends well."

Congress is likely to find it easy to select the right candidates, for the 17 seats it has been allotted. Saharanpur is one such example. Last October, Imran Masud, earlier with BSP and SP, returned to Congress and is likely to be fielded in the seat. Former MLA and senior Congress leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh, close to the Gandhi family, is reportedly eyeing the Deoria seat. "Congress has got seats where it wanted to field candidates. It has not got Muslim-dominated seats like Moradabad and Bijnor," a UP Congress leader said.

Former Union minister Pradeep Kumar Jain Aditya is a strong contender for the Jhansi seat. PL Punia's son Tanuj Punia may be Congress' choice for Barabanki.

The Congress leader quoted earlier claimed that the party was also not interested in seats like Ghaziabad, Mathura and Bulandshahr. "The party tried its best to get Shravasti, but SP was not willing to part with it," he said. Congress wanted Shravasti to field former UP minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui, earlier with BSP.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Varanasi is among the seats allotted to Congress. Congress may look for a prominent face to be fielded as its candidate in Varanasi. UP Congress president Ajay Rai is a possible candidate.

SP state president Naresh Uttam, Rai, AICC in-charge Avinash Pandey and SP national general secretary Rajendra Choudhari were present at the joint presser.