New Delhi: The Congress is expected to share a few seats with its ally Samajwadi Party (SP) in Maharashtra as it is eyeing the Uttar Pradesh assembly by-polls and having learnt lessons from its recent defeat in the Haryana elections.
The by-elections for nine assembly seats in UP will take place on November 13, while polls for all the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra will be held on November 20. The results for both will be out on November 23.
The Congress is keen to contest the upcoming UP by-polls in alliance with the SP and has been demanding three seats after the SP-Congress alliance defeated the BJP in the state in the Lok Sabha elections, winning 43 of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
The SP had recently angered the Congress by unilaterally declaring candidates on six out of 10 by-poll seats (the by-poll on the Milkipur seat has been withheld by EC) but later clarified that it wanted to keep the alliance intact.
A few months ago, the Congress had refused to share any seats with the Samajwadi in Haryana as the grand old party was overconfident in winning the northern state.
After the shocking results in Haryana, the SP criticised the Congress, saying had there been an alliance between the two parties, the BJP would not have won a consecutive third term.
The SP, which had two MLAs in Maharashtra, is asking for four seats from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, which is expected to announce a seat-sharing deal in a day or two. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is also reaching Mumbai on Friday to discuss the issue with MVA leaders.
“The focus in Maharashtra is contesting as the INDIA alliance. The SP may get some seats, but I can’t say how many,” Special Invitee to Congress Working Committee Mohammed Arif Naseem Khan told ETV Bharat.
According to Congress insiders, accommodating the SP in Maharashtra will certainly help the grand old party take on the BJP in up. Once the Maharashtra deal is done, the pact for up is also likely to be finalised soon.
Out of the nine assembly seats, four were won by the SP, three by the BJP, and one each by the Rashtriya Lok Dal and the Nishad Party—both NDA partners—in the 2022 polls.
Both the INDIA alliance as well as the BJP have been trying hard to gain influence in the nine by-poll seats over the past weeks.
“We will soon finish holding 'Save Constitution' conclaves on all nine seats. After defeating the divisive forces in the Lok Sabha, it is important to defeat them in the assembly as well. The INDIA bloc will win all nine seats,” said AICC in charge of UP Avinash Pande.
Pande slammed the saffron party functionary Dinesh Pratap Singh for making derogatory remarks against Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, saying she could not fight the BJP in up and therefore ran away to Wayanad, where she will contest the Nov 13 Lok Sabha by-poll.
“These remarks showcase the mentality of the saffron party towards women. The voters will teach them a lesson,” he added.
