New Delhi: The INDIA bloc will face its first test in the forthcoming 10 assembly bypolls in Uttar Pradesh after the alliance’s success in the Lok Sabha elections winning 43 of the total 80 seats. The bypolls have to be held as the local MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha and resigned from the assembly as per rules, which require the seats to be filled up within the next six months.
Over the past weeks, leaders of both the Congress and the SP have been saying they wanted to strengthen the alliance ahead of the bypoll and would also strive to dislodge the ruling BJP in the 2027 assembly elections. According to Congress insiders, informal discussions had been going on within the grand old party, which wanted to contest three or four seats out of 10, but a formal consultation between the INDIA bloc allies was yet to begin.
The Congress has convened a meeting of senior leaders of all 10 assembly seats where by-polls are due, in Lucknow on July 21 to assess the strengths and weaknesses of its organisation so that a claim could be made accordingly. Congress leaders are upbeat over the by and sense that the contest is yet another opportunity for the alliance to defeat the BJP, which is trying to deal with infighting that has intensified following the drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections.
“We are going to defeat the BJP on all the 10 seats. The BJP is nervous over the national poll results and is trying to find a scapegoat for the loss,” AICC secretary in-charge of UP Pradeep Narwal told ETV Bharat. The sense in the Congress camp was shared by the SP also.
“Though I don’t want to comment on the BJP’s internal bickerings, I think the saffron party is trying to find a scapegoat, who can be blamed for the Lok Sabha poll loss. Because of their infighting, the focus on governance has been lost and the people are suffering,” SP Lok Sabha MP from Muzaffarnagar Harendra Singh Malik told ETV Bharat.
According to the SP leader, the seat-sharing for the ensuing bypolls would be decided by party chief Akhilesh Yadav, but said that the regional party always showed a big heart while dealing with its allies. “The final decision on who contests how many seats will be taken by our national president, Akhilesh Yadav, but I can say that the SP has a big heart. We always take our allies along. We have a robust organisation across the state and will defeat the BJP again,” he said.
The organisation part is the problem with the Congress, which would be happy to contest 3 or 4 by-poll seats, said party insiders, adding that the likely claim would be on Sisamau, Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Phulpur and Khair seats.
“Though the issues in the local polls are different from the national ones, the INDIA bloc will work together to defeat the BJP in the coming bypolls also. As far as the seat-sharing is concerned it will be worked out mutually. We are in a good position on some of the seats and will bring it up whenever formal consultations start. However, we also need to mobilise our resources for the forthcoming contest and plan coordination with the ally as in the national polls,” former UP Congress chief Brijlal Khabri told ETV Bharat.
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