UP bypolls: Is SP's seat snub to Cong linked to Haryana rout?

Congress strategists on Sunday said discussions on ticket distribution are underway with the Samajwadi Party and there are "possibilities ahead", days after its ally declared candidates for six of the 10 Uttar Pradesh assembly seats where bypolls are scheduled.

The SP had announced candidates for six of the 10 Uttar Pradesh assembly seats after the Congress lost the assembly polls in Haryana.

The Congress has been demanding five seats in the bypolls for which the schedule is yet to be announced.

Congress national general secretary and Uttar Pradesh in-charge, Avinash Pandey told PTI, "If the results do not meet our expectations, it is natural for disappointment to arise among our workers and leaders. However, we are committed to our objectives in UP - the era of jungle raj must come to an end."

A Congress worker said the loss in Haryana has empowered the SP to declare candidates for six seats in the state.

Despite this setback, Pandey emphasised that discussions regarding ticket distribution are ongoing and solutions will be found through timely communication.

"This is not a major issue. There are still possibilities ahead," he asserted.

In the last Lok Sabha elections, the Congress, in alliance with the SP contested 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.

The SP won 37 seats, while the Congress managed to secure six, providing a morale boost for a party that had been sidelined in the state for years.

With eyes on the 2027 UP assembly polls, the Congress was eager for the upcoming bypolls to test its strategies.

State president Ajay Rai even proposed that the Congress contest five of the ten available seats.

However, the recent election results in Haryana prompted the SP to assert claims on six seats, including two that the Congress was eyeing.

On Wednesday, the SP named candidates for the Karhal (Mainpuri), Sisamau (Kanpur Nagar), Milkipur (Ayodhya), Katehari (Ambedkarnagar), Phulpur (Prayagraj), and Majhawan (Mirzapur) seats.

Notably, Phulpur and Majhawan were among the five seats the Congress had sought to contest.

The SP has yet to announce candidates for the Kundarki, Meerapur, Ghaziabad, and Khair seats.

In the 2022 assembly polls, the Ghaziabad seat was won by BJP's Atul Garg by getting 1,50,205 votes while the SP was at number two, the Bahujan Samaj Party at third and the Congress at fourth. Here the Congress candidate got 11,818 votes while the SP got 44,668 votes.

Anoop Valmiki of the BJP won the Khair assembly seat of Aligarh district by getting 1,39,643 votes and against him the BSP was second, RLD third and Congress at fourth place. Here the Congress candidate got only 1,514 votes.

Political experts say that in the 2022 elections, the Ghaziabad seat was not favourable for the SP and the Meerapur and Khair seats were given to the ally RLD, so the SP can give these seats to the Congress to save the relationship.

Political analysts said the SP might allocate the Meerapur and Khair seats to the Congress to preserve the alliance, as they were less favourable for the SP in the past elections.

"Our loss in Haryana was due to overconfidence, but in UP, we are actively working on the ground. Together, Congress and the SP will challenge the BJP's dominance and strive for victory," Rai said.

He said the shared goal of both parties is to end the BJP's "jungle raj" and asserted that the people will respond accordingly.

Rai said the Congress proposed to contest five seats where the BJP had faltered in 2022, but the SP has now declared candidates for two of those.

Both Rai and other Congress leaders emphasised the importance of the alliance with the SP, downplaying ticket distribution concerns for the bypolls.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has echoed this sentiment, affirming that the alliance will remain intact.

Pandey said, "The current political landscape in UP is complex. While alliances evolve, the challenges posed by the BJP's governance are a collective struggle for all of us."

He acknowledged the recent political developments in Haryana as a cautionary signal, underscoring the need for greater diligence in their efforts.

The bypolls will be held in Katehari (Ambedkarnagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Milkipur (Ayodhya), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sisamau (Kanpur Nagar), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj), and Kundarki (Moradabad).

The Sisamau seat has become vacant following the conviction of SP MLA Irfan Solanki, while the others are unoccupied due to resignations from MLAs who were elected to Parliament.

The election schedule for the bypolls is yet to be announced.

In the 2022 UP assembly elections, the SP secured victories in Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal, Milkipur, and Kundarki, while the BJP won in Phulpur, Ghaziabad, and Khair, with the Nishad Party winning in Majhawan. The Meerapur seat was held by the Rashtriya Lok Dal, a former ally of the SP.