'Talks still underway...nothing official yet': UP Cong leader after Akhilesh claims seat deal

Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 28 (ANI): Responding to Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed that a seat-sharing deal for the Lok Sabha elections has been sealed with the Congress, with 11 'strong' seats being offered to the latter, party leader Sachin Chaudhary on Saturday said the Congress has not officially conveyed or notified the pact as yet.

Speaking to ANI on Saturday, the Congress general secretary for UP said talks are still underway for some Lok Sabha seats in the state and there will be more meetings going forward.

"The Congress hasn't officially notified a seat-sharing deal (with the SP) as yet. Talks are still underway for some more seats and there will be more meetings along the way. I hope Akhilesh-ji will show a big heart and hold seat-sharing talks in the spirit of give and take. He should realise that he has to do his politics in UP and must take all like-minded partners along. Rahul-ji and Priyanka-ji are fighting alone and need more support from the alliance (INDIA). He is currently in the middle of a massive hybrid march (Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra). Has any other Opposition party taken a similar initiative yet (to reach out to people)? Reaching a seat-sharing arrangement will take time but we age hopeful of mounting a strong challenge to the BJP-NDA," Chaudhary told ANI.

Earlier, on Saturday, former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said his party's seat-sharing talks with the Congress were "off to a good start" as 11 "strong" Lok Sabha seats in the state had been offered to the latter for the Lok Sabha polls.

"Our alliance with Congress is off to a good start, with 11 strong seats (offered to the latter). This positive outcome of the seat stalks would be carried forward and will eventually put us on course to victory. Team 'INDIA' team and its strategy for 'PDA' (pichre, Dalit, and alpashankyhak) or backward classes, Dalits and the minorities will change the course of history," Akhilesh posted in Hindi on X.

At 80, UP sends the most members to the Lower House of Parliament.

Earlier this month, Akhilesh held a meeting in Lucknow with party leaders, including former MPs, MLAs, and MLCs. He said winnability is a key criterion for deciding Lok Sabha candidates.

With the INDIA bloc seemingly in disarray, with TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann ruling out an alliance with the Congress in their respective states, both the SP and the grand old party are desperately eyeing a seat-sharing deal in the largest state in a bid to bring the alliance back on track.

Meanwhile, responding to a viral video purportedly showing him as saying that the BJP and SP were born out of riots, Chaudhary said, "I was talking about the 1990s. The BJP had played an active role in the demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya and (late SP patriarch) Mulayam Yadav was in power at the time. We all know about the riots that followed the demolition. However, that was a different era when Mulayam Singh-ji was (CM). Today, we are allies." (ANI)