Another Setback For INDI Alliance? UP Lok Sabha Seat-Sharing Talks Between Congress, SP Hit Roadblock

In another possible setback for the INDI Alliance, the talks between the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress over seat-sharing arrangement in Uttar Pradesh have reportedly reached a dead end.

The breakdown in negotiations, which occurred late on Monday night, was primarily due to disagreements over the allocation of three crucial seats in the Moradabad division.

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The Akhilesh Yadav-led party has made a final offer of 17 seats, but the Congress is yet to accept it.

Yadav has so far stayed away from the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which is moving through Uttar Pradesh, and said his party will join the yatra once the seat-sharing arrangement for Lok Sabha polls is finalised.

The SP has already announced 27 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the two separate lists. Sitting MP Dimple Yadav has been fielded from Mainpuri, while party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq will contest from Sambhal.

Initially, the Samajwadi Party proposed allocating 11 seats to the Congress. However, following the Jayant Chaudhary-led Rastriya Lok Dal joining the NDA, the Samajwadi Party increased its offer to 15 seats for the Congress.

In response to further negotiations, the Samajwadi Party also included the Saharanpur and Amroha seats in their offer, reportedly at the request of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Subsequently, the Congress sought either the Moradabad or Bijnor seat. Ultimately, the Samajwadi Party made a final offer of 17 seats, beyond which negotiations reached an impasse.

The seats on which an agreement was reached included high-profile constituencies such as Amethi, Rae Bareli, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Deoria, Bansgaon, Maharajganj, Barabanki, Kanpur, Jhansi, Mathura, Fatehpur Sikri, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Hathras, Saharanpur.

However, SP's refusal to part with Ballia, Moradabad, and Bijnor reportedly proved to be the deal-breaker.

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