Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Congress With us in Uttar Pradesh, Contesting Two Seats in Alliance, Reiterates Akhilesh Yadav

Ahead of Lok Sabha Elections 2019, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had made a similar claim on March 5 too.

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday reiterated that Congress is a part of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ and will contest the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 from two seats in Uttar Pradesh. “Congress is with us in Uttar Pradesh.They are contesting on two seats in our alliance,” he was quoted as saying in a video shared by news agency ANI.

Notably, the two seats referred here are Amethi and Rae Bareli, the Lok Sabha constituencies of Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi respectively.

The SP chief had made a similar claim on March 5. Addressing a joint press conference with Rashtriya Lok Dal’s (RLD) Jayant Chaudhary and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leaders, he had said, “Congress is with us, it is a part of our alliance. Why do you repeatedly ask if Congress will come with us or not? I have said before also that Congress is part of Mahagatbandhan, they will contest on two seats in our alliance.” At the same event, RLD announced its formal entry into the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party pre-poll seat sharing alliance.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had announced the seat-sharing deal in Uttar Pradesh for general elections on January 12 at a press conference in Lucknow. Addressing the media, BSP chief Mayawati had said that the alliance will herald a new revolution. She termed the press conference ‘historic’ and asserted that both the parties (SP and BSP) won’t gain anything by including Congress in the alliance.

Earlier in February, the BSP and SP announced the seat-sharing in the crucial state for upcoming Lok Sabha polls on Thursday. While, Mayawati-led BSP will be contesting the polls on 38 seats, its ally – Akhilesh Yadav-led SP – will fight 37 seats. The parties have left three seats for smaller allies.