New Delhi: After a huge victory in the recently held Lok Sabha elections wherein Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged 37 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, reducing the toll of BJP from 62 in 2019 to 33 in 2024, party supremo Akhilesh Yadav is now eyeing national ambition. The party is already establishing its presence in Jammu and Kashmir by fielding 20 candidates – 15 in Kashmir and 5 in Jammu – for the Assembly polls there. However, the party was not granted its traditional cycle symbol for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections because it has not yet achieved national status.
Similarly, there are rumours that the party is also looking to expand its wings in Maharashtra and is asking for 10-12 seats from MVA alliance. Party insiders said on the condition of anonymity that there is an unease with the Congress since they the grand old party is not willing to share the seats where it enjoys a good presence, while they do not hesitate in seeking seats from the other parties where they (Congress) have a little relevance.
“We showed them a big heart in Haryana by not contesting there. In the similar way, the Congress should also reciprocate by giving us a few seats in Maharashtra”, said a party insider.
SP’s Maharashtra President, Abu Asim Azmi said, “We have asked for 12 seats from the MVA alliance and that too in areas, where the alliance candidates did not receive victory, including two seats in Bhiwandi and a few others. Congress has been losing in that area and has little presence there. I don’t think that our demand for just a dozen of seats is unjustified.”
“We’ve been talking to SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav and he has assured us that he’ll soon be a writing a letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP Chief (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT). I am also in touch with the MVA leaders but we haven’t sat over the table yet. But we are hopeful that this would be done soon”, he added.
Similarly, party insiders confirm that SP would also contest the Assembly elections in Jharkhand along with the JMM-congress alliance. There are also expectations that the party is likely to contest on at least half a dozen seats along with I.N.D.I.A. alliance partners.
Congress seeks four to five seats for Uttar Pradesh by-elections.
While by-elections to the 10 vacant Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh are yet to be announced, there are rumours that Congress is asking for four to five seats there. Of the 10 seats that have fallen vacant, five were won by the SP in 2022, three were bagged by BJP and one seat each was bagged by the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Nishad Party.
While there has been no official announcement on the seat sharing there, SP insiders said that they are unlikely to cede four to five seats to Congress but can cede at least one seat given the winning probability. The SP had allocated 17 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats to Congress, of which Congress won six in UP.
National Party recognition criteria
A political party is recognised as a national party when it meets one of the following conditions mentioned in Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.As per the order, a political party must secure at least 6% of the total valid votes in four or more states where it fields candidates in Lok Sabha or state Assembly elections. Additionally, it must win a minimum of four Lok Sabha seats from any state or states. In the previous Lok Sabha elections, the party must have won at least 2% of the total seats, with candidates elected from a minimum of three states. The party is known as a state party in at least four states.