Akhilesh Yadav’s last offer, India’s unity in UP depends on Congress’s answer

Akhilesh Yadav has said that after the seat distribution is finalized, SP will join Rahul Gandhi’s journey.

New Delhi:

In a sign of fresh trouble for the Indian opposition faction in Uttar Pradesh, seat-sharing talks between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress have hit a halt. Sources said the Akhilesh Yadav-led party has made a final offer of 17 seats, but the Congress has not yet accepted it. Mr Yadav has so far stayed away from the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which is underway in Uttar Pradesh, and said his party will join the yatra after the seat-sharing arrangements for the Lok Sabha elections are finalised. .

Congress is trying to drive a hard bargain in the politically important state. Samajwadi Party had first offered 11 seats to the Grand Old Party. But with Jayant Chaudhary led Rashtriya Lok Dal joining the NDA camp, the Samajwadi Party agreed to give 15 seats to the Congress. The latter bargained for more and the Samajwadi Party also offered Saharanpur and Amroha seats, reportedly at the request of Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Then, sources said, Congress asked for Moradabad or Bijnor seat. The Samajwadi Party put its foot down on the offer of the last 17 seats and the talks stalled.

Mr Yadav said yesterday, “We have held several rounds of discussions, exchanged several lists. When the seats are distributed, the Samajwadi Party will take part in its Nyay Yatra.” Sources said that Samajwadi Party leaders are waiting for the reply from the Congress leadership. Mr Yadav wants the Congress to respond before the first leg of Rahul Gandhi’s visit ends. Sources said that if Congress does not ratify the agreement in the next three days, the alliance is likely to fall apart.

Amid the tussle between the allies, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chand posted on Twitter that Congress would be responsible if the alliance derails.

In a post addressed to Mr Gandhi, he wrote, “Rahul Gandhi ji, our leader Akhilesh Yadav is big-hearted, but your petty and vain officials do not want an alliance between Samajwadi Party and Congress in Uttar Pradesh. , Congress will be responsible.”

He said, “Congress should remember that its vote share is less than that of many smaller parties. Samajwadi Party is strong enough to remove the anti-people government on its own.”

Earlier, Mr Yadav had announced candidates for 16 of the 80 parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh, underlining that he did not need Congress’s approval to name his candidates.

In the 2019 elections, Samajwadi Party won five seats in Uttar Pradesh. Congress won on one.

Many shocks to India

The standoff in Uttar Pradesh comes after alliance talks in West Bengal were derailed after Congress pressed for more seats. In Bengal, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has said that her party will contest the Lok Sabha elections alone. The announcement came as the state Congress leadership insisted on at least 10 seats, while Trinamool was offering two seats. In damage control mode, Congress leaders have said Ms Banerjee is an integral part of the India block, but no formal seat-sharing arrangement has been announced so far.

AAP and Congress have decided to contest elections separately in Punjab. AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal has said that this decision has been taken with mutual consent and there is no enmity between the parties.

Akhilesh Yadav is among those opposition leaders who have insisted on a bigger role for regional parties in their strongholds. “In many states, Congress is non-existent compared to BJP, but regional parties are fighting with full force against the saffron camp on the ground and I am hopeful that they will be successful,” he had said last year.

The Congress has been accused of pushing for more seats in states dominated by regional powers, but not returning the favor when it comes to its strongholds. After Congress joined the NDA camp, Nitish Kumar led JDU also targeted Congress.

In fact, after former Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s “Akhilesh Akhilesh” comment, the Samajwadi Party had decided to contest alone in the recently held Madhya Pradesh elections. Then Mr. Yadav had targeted Congress. He had said, “If the Congress continues to behave like this then who will trust them? If we fight against the BJP with illusions in our minds, we will not succeed.”