Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2017: Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance likely to be finalised today

The SP also in an official statement said that it will contest 300 plus seats out of total 403, leaving the rest to the Congress.

Updated: January 20, 2017 12:10 AM IST

By Uddipta Das

Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2017: Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance likely to be finalised today
Not a monsoon wedding: All are invited, for your eyes only

Lucknow, Jan 19: The holy union of drama-filled Samajwadi Party and Rahul Gandhi-filled Congress may finally happen as reports have speculated that SP and Congress are likely to announce their ‘grand alliance’ on Friday. The two parties which has otherwise made the alliance public yesterday is expected to announce the alliance officially tomorrow as Congress hotshots Ghulam Nabi Azad and the party’s state in-charge Raj Babbar could travel to Lucknow on Friday. With elections drawing closer each day and the nominations beginning on January 21, both the parties are to decide seats and media reports claim that a meeting of the Congress election committee is on.

As per a News18 report, the Congress is insisting on more than 100 seats and are eager to accommodate Rashtriya Lok Dal as well. But in an earlier report, SP National vice-president Kironmoy Nanda confirmed that SP is not getting into an alliance with RLD.  This clearly means that Congress will have to accommodate RLD, which is demanding more than 50 seats. However, the Congress is willing to give only somewhere around 25 seats to RLD. Reportedly, the RLD has a strong presence in western UP and hence the Comgress is of the opinion that the alliance with RLD can be actually fruitful.

The SP also in an official statement said SP will contest 300 plus seats out of total 403, leaving the rest to the Congress. Reportedly posters have appeared at several places in the holy city of Varanasi depicting Rahul Gandhi as Krishna and Akhilesh Yadav as Arjun of the Mahabharata. (The photoshop job is amateurish, and seems to project the young Gandhi more interested in being photographed than riding the chariot.)

The speculated ‘Maha-gathbandhan’ is expected to grow into a full size alliance soon, but according to Azad, as of now it is just the SP and the Congress. Congress CM candidate for UP, Sheila Dikshit reportedly said that she will withdraw from the CM candidature if Congress and SP forms an alliance as there cannot be two CM candidates. (Sour grapes?)

As of now, the poll process began on Tuesday with the notification for the first phase in which 73 constituencies will go to polls on February 11.

Also Read:

For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on Latest India News on India.com.

By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts Cookies Policy.