NEW DELHI: SP is confident about contesting the bypolls solo while Congress seeks to bid for five seats.
It remains unclear whether Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) will contest the upcoming bypolls for 10 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh together or separately. Sources indicate that following their strong performance in the Lok Sabha elections, SP is confident about contesting the bypolls independently. While Congress is seeking to contest five seats, SP is only willing to offer them one seat, i.e., Ghaziabad.
Congress and the SP are engaged in discussions and will soon decide on seat- sharing for the upcoming bypolls for 10 Assembly seats in UP. A local Congress leader stated, “Both political parties, which contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election as partners of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, will also contest the by-elections as an alliance. However, the number of seats each party will contest is yet to be determined.” A senior Congress leader said that high-level discussions are taking place between Congress and the Samajwadi Party regarding the number of seats Congress will contest in the polls as part of their alliance with SP.
Earlier this week, UP Congress Chief Ajay Rai mentioned in a media interaction that discussions are ongoing with SP regarding the bypolls. However, Rai did not specify the number of seats Congress is demanding. He emphasised that the party should claim the seats previously held by the BJP and its allies. “Of the 10 seats, five have been with the Samajwadi Party, and the remaining five with the BJP and its allies. We should contest these five seats in the by-election,” said a senior Congress leader.
Meanwhile, I.P. Singh, national spokesperson of SP, said, “The Samajwadi Party will contest the majority of the seats in the by-election and will secure victories in all of them.” He added that party chief Akhilesh Yadav will make the final decision on seat- sharing, but it is clear that they intend to contest most of the seats. Singh also mentioned that they are urging the Election Commission to ensure a free and fair election.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) may schedule the bypolls in Uttar Pradesh to coincide with the elections in Haryana and Maharashtra later this year. The Uttar Pradesh Assembly declared these 10 seats vacant between June 7 and 18, and the ECI is required to hold the bypolls within six months from the date they became vacant.
These seats are Katehri (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Milkipur (Ayodhya), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sisamau (Kanpur Nagar), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj), and Kundarki (Moradabad).
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav resigned from the Karhal (Mainpuri) Assembly seat after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Kannauj. Similarly, SP leader Awadhesh Prasad resigned from the Milkipur (Ayodhya) seat following his election to the Lok Sabha from Ayodhya. BJP’s Atul Garg and Vinod Kumar Bind also resigned from their Assembly seats in Ghaziabad and Majhawan (Mirzapur) after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Ghaziabad and Bhadohi, respectively.