UP polls 2022: Alliance, merger between SP, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party discussed during Akhilesh-Shivpal meet

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], December 16 (ANI): Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya) leader Shivpal Singh Yadav on Thursday discussed merger options alliance between the two parties during a meeting in Lucknow, sources said.
According to party sources, the meeting took place for about 45 minutes in which the SP chief met his uncle's family after five years and then had a discussion about upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls.
"During the meeting, both alliance and merger options of two parties have been discussed for the upcoming polls. The PSP leader wants around 25 to 40 seats for his party if the two parties form an alliance. However, the parties did not disclose their strategy on the second option (merger)," sources added.
In 2016, Akhilesh had shown the Samajwadi Party's exit door to his uncle Shivpal due to family disputes. Shivpal later formed his own party Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya). However, the PSP had failed to win any seat in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The meeting between the two leaders came ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections which are scheduled to take place early next year.
The SP chief made an announcement of forming an alliance with small parties for the polls in July this year. "Samajwadi Party is going to form an alliance with small political parties," Akhilesh told ANI.
In the 2017 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party bagged 312 seats out of the 403-seat Uttar Pradesh Assembly while Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged 47 seats, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) won 19 and Congress could manage to win only seven seats. The rest of the seats were bagged by other candidates. (ANI)