The Congress and the Samajwadi Party are preparing to begin formal discussions on seat-sharing for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections next week, with Congress sources saying that the party has identified 150 constituencies it intends to seek in negotiations. the division of the state’s 403 Assembly seats has emerged as the principal point of friction While both parties have repeatedly said that they intend to fight the election together.
The negotiations are expected to begin in October, sources have said. A final arrangement, however, will require the approval of the two parties’ top leadership — Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav.
Akhilesh Yadav recently launched the party’s PDA — Pichhda (Backward classes), Dalit, and Alpsankhyak (Minorities) — Rath Yatra from Rae Bareli, the Lok Sabha constituency represented by Rahul Gandhi. A final arrangement, however, will require the approval of the two parties’ top leadership — Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav. The party is focusing particularly on Dalit and Brahmin voters while seeking to make inroads among extremely backward communities. the party has been inducting Muslim leaders and has given a prominent role in this effort to Imran Pratapgarhi, chairman of the Congress minority department While the focus is there on Brahmin and Dalit voters. Among the prominent Muslim Congress leaders in Uttar Pradesh is Saharanpur MP Imran Masood. The move came just as questions over seat-sharing between the two parties were becoming more prominent. When Akhilesh Yadav began his Rath Yatra from Rae Bareli, some Congress leaders responded by saying that their party could launch its own campaign from Mainpuri and Etawah — two areas strongly associated with the Samajwadi Party.
The Congress has also been working to strengthen its organisation across Uttar Pradesh in all of the 403 seats in the assembly.
The negotiations are expected to begin in October, sources have said. Congress MP Imran Masood has said that the Congress will continue its campaign under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership and has rejected suggestions that the party can simply be pushed aside in Uttar Pradesh.
