Amidst the preparations for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2027, Congress and Samajwadi Party have started formal talks regarding alliance. On the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament, Samajwadi Party National President Akhilesh Yadav reached Rahul Gandhi’s office in Parliament House and met him.
During this, both the leaders discussed the possible alliance as well as political and public interest issues of Uttar Pradesh. According to sources, the law and order of the state, the case of theft of Ram temple offerings and the strategy for the upcoming assembly elections were discussed in the meeting. This meeting is being considered important from the electoral equations of 2027.
Initial brainstorming on seat sharing
This meeting has taken place at a time when different statements are coming out regarding seat sharing between the leaders of Congress and Samajwadi Party. Congress has recently made Rajendra Pal Gautam the President of Uttar Pradesh Congress. Gautam is continuously talking about Congress’s “half share” in the 403-member assembly. And have claimed to contest elections on almost half the seats.
On the other hand, many leaders of Samajwadi Party have been raising questions about the political strength of Congress in the state. In such an environment, Akhilesh Yadav’s meeting with Rahul Gandhi is being considered as a clear message from the top leadership to the leaders of both the parties that the talks on alliance will move forward through dialogue.
Mathematics of 2024 Lok Sabha elections
In the Lok Sabha elections 2024, Congress contested 17 seats in alliance with Samajwadi Party, out of which it won 6 seats. In this way the strike rate of the party was around 35 percent. Whereas Samajwadi Party contested 63 seats and won 37 seats and its strike rate was around 59 percent. These figures can now become an important basis in the seat sharing talks for the assembly elections.
Why did the mathematics of seats become a challenge?
There are 80 Lok Sabha and 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. On an average, there are about five assembly seats under one Lok Sabha seat. On the basis of this mathematics, it is believed that Samajwadi Party is not in favor of giving more than 85 seats to Congress. However, in the 2017 assembly elections, Congress contested 105 seats in alliance with Samajwadi Party. The party wants almost the same level of share this time too.
On the other hand, Samajwadi Party believes that considering the performance of Congress in the 2017 Assembly elections and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, giving more seats may affect its own electoral interests.
Know which issues are yet to be agreed upon
The beginning of talks between Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav has definitely strengthened the prospects of the alliance, but consensus is yet to be reached on many issues like seat sharing, political stake and election strategy. There is a possibility of several rounds of talks between the two parties in the coming days, only after which the final shape of the alliance for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2027 will be clear.
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