Congress To Contest On 17 Seats, INDIA Bloc On 63 Seats In UP

The Congress will compete on 17 seats in Uttar Pradesh, while the Samajwadi Party and other partners in the INDIA alliance will contest on the remaining 63 seats in the Lok Sabha polls 2024. This agreement was reached after a phone call between Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday morning. Before the formal announcement in the evening, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav confirmed that the alliance was stable and all was well.

#WATCH | Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande says, "I am delighted to tell you that it has been decided that in Uttar Pradesh the INC will contest on 17 seats and the remaining 63 seats will have candidates of INDIA Alliance - from SP and other parties." pic.twitter.com/mRBa3ErTqQ
— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2024

Seat-sharing negotiations hit a roadblock when Akhilesh Yadav declared he wouldn't join Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra until the Congress finalizes the deal. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra stepped in and a telephonic conversation with Akhilesh on Wednesday morning to address the issue to sort things out.

The former CM of Uttar Pradesh Akilesh Yadav made his final offer to the Congress, proposing a total of 17 seats. Earlier, he almost issued an ultimatum, stating that he wouldn't participate in Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the state until the Congress agreed to this offer.

Before coming to this negotiations he had, suggested 11 seats for Congress which was later raised to 15 before settling at the final number of 17.

On Wednesday, Akhilesh reassured that there was no conflict and stated that clarity would soon emerge. He expressed confidence that "all is well that ends well." Additionally, Akhilesh mentioned that the Samajwadi Party would aim to contest from the maximum number of seats possible, stating, "as many as we can contest."