Lok Sabha Polls: Congress to contest on 17 seats in UP, remaining 63 to have INDIA bloc candidates

After days of uncertainty and disagreements, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress have ultimately reached an agreement on seat-sharing in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.The grand old party on Wednesday announced that it will contest 17 seats in Uttar Pradesh and the remaining 63 seats will have INDIA Alliance candidates.

“I am happy to announce that the Congress will contest on 17 seats (in UP) and under this alliance, the remaining 63 seats will be contested by Samajwadi Party and other parties willing to be part of the INDIA alliance,” said Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande.

Congress will contest Raebareli, Amethi, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Kanpur and 12 other seats, said SP state chief Naresh Uttam Patel. Samajwadi Party will contest one seat, Khajuraho, in Madhya Pradesh and support Congress on the rest, he added.”All is well that ends well,” said SP chief Akhilesh Yadav as he confirmed alliance with Congress in the state. This marks the end of bitterness between the two parties which had resulted in Akhilesh Yadav not joining Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the state.

The SP chief had insisted that he will join the yatra only after seat-sharing deal is finalised with the Congress. With Rahul still in the state with his yatra, it is likely that Akhilesh will eventually join Rahul Gandhi.

When asked about his remarks against the grand old party, Akhilesh said “All is well that ends well. Yes, there will be an alliance. There is no conflict. Everything will be out and clear soon.”(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)