seat pitch to SP as alliance talks gather pace, seeks 'respectable share'

As the political race in Uttar Pradesh heats up ahead of the 2027 elections for 403-member Assembly, the Congress party has shared a list of 172 seats with the Samajwadi Party (SP) as the two INDIA bloc allies begin seat-sharing negotiations.

The list, divided into four categories, based on the party's preferences and assessment of its electoral prospects, was submitted after discussions with the SP and three internal meetings chaired by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, party sources were cited as saying by CNN-News18.

The Congress has almost finalised its position on Category A seats, leaving little room for compromise. Some adjustments could be made to Category B seats, while the party is open to negotiations over seats placed in Categories C and D, sources further told News18.

Congress was not insisting on a specific number of seats but wanted a "respectable share" in the alliance, as per the sources.

Several rounds of discussions are expected before the two parties reach an agreement. The final number of seats to be contested by each party will be decided only after that.

A senior Congress source said defeating the BJP was the common objective of the two parties and that both sides would be willing to make necessary compromises to achieve it, according to India Today.

The two parties contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections together in Uttar Pradesh, with the SP winning 37 of the state’s 80 seats and the Congress winning six.

Buoyed by the INDIA bloc’s performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and its recent campaigns against the BJP, including over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Congress is signalling that it will no longer settle for a token share in the alliance.

“Winnability is a deception and the victory of AAP candidates in Delhi is an example. In politics, most people vote for a party out of trust and our candidates will not be weak ones. Just as others plan to select strong candidates, we will do the same,” said Congress’s UP in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam on Wednesday, according to Hindustan Times, pushing back against the SP’s argument that seat allocation should be determined by electoral prospects rather than numbers.

The Congress’s past assembly election performances are central to the SP’s argument. In 2017, the Congress contested 114 seats and won seven, while the SP won 47 of the 311 seats it contested. In 2022, the Congress contested 399 seats but won only two, while the SP won 111 of the 347 seats it contested.