NEW DELHI: Keeping Congress guessing about his participation in the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra as it makes a pit stop in Rae Bareli on Tuesday, Samajwadi Party chief and INDIA partner Akhilesh Yadav on Monday upped the ante and demanded that seat-sharing negotiations between the two parties be firmed up first.
While Akhilesh’s last-minute announcement triggered fresh concerns over the health and stability of the INDIA partnership, SP managers told TOI that an alliance between the two parties was “on course and certain”, but caveated the statement with the assertion that the outcome of negotiations hinged on whether Congress scales down its demand of 20 to settle for the 17 offered to it.
With a formal announcement still awaited, sources said Congress leaders in UP continued to push for a larger share of seats in West UP – at least two more seats – where the party believes it has a strong presence and an ability to win, a claim anchored in the confidence that after Jayant Chaudhary crossing over to BJP, SP also needs to have an ally.
SP chief not shy of putting ‘junior’ ally Cong in place
Akhilesh’s public comment, coming on the heels of his letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in which he said he would join the BJNY in Rae Bareli to put up a show of strength for the INDIA bloc, however, suggested that the SP chief was unwilling to relent after bumping up SP’s original offer of 11 seats to Congress. It also appeared that he was not shy of putting Congress, the ‘junior’ partner with only one Lok Sabha seat to its credit in UP, in its place, publicly.
“Right now, talks are under way between the two parties. We have had several rounds of talks. They have sent us lists and we have sent them as well. The moment seat-sharing is finalised, Samajwadi Party will join their Nyay Yatra,” Akhilesh told reporters on Monday.
With SP now pressing hard for an early finalisation of seat-sharing talks and appearing keen to push forth on its own terms, sources said a formal announcement may be made within the next 24 hours to prevent Congress being left red-faced by Akhilesh’s “abandonment” on UP turf.
With 80 seats up for the taking, SP had unilaterally announced 11 seats for Congress in UP shortly after Nitish Kumar left the INDIA bloc embarrassed with his dramatic exit from the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar.
The move was then seen as a face-saver that sought to underscore that the INDIA bloc was alive and well in at least one key state, especially after back-to-back setbacks in West Bengal and Bihar.
While Akhilesh’s last-minute announcement triggered fresh concerns over the health and stability of the INDIA partnership, SP managers told TOI that an alliance between the two parties was “on course and certain”, but caveated the statement with the assertion that the outcome of negotiations hinged on whether Congress scales down its demand of 20 to settle for the 17 offered to it.
With a formal announcement still awaited, sources said Congress leaders in UP continued to push for a larger share of seats in West UP – at least two more seats – where the party believes it has a strong presence and an ability to win, a claim anchored in the confidence that after Jayant Chaudhary crossing over to BJP, SP also needs to have an ally.
SP chief not shy of putting ‘junior’ ally Cong in place
Akhilesh’s public comment, coming on the heels of his letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in which he said he would join the BJNY in Rae Bareli to put up a show of strength for the INDIA bloc, however, suggested that the SP chief was unwilling to relent after bumping up SP’s original offer of 11 seats to Congress. It also appeared that he was not shy of putting Congress, the ‘junior’ partner with only one Lok Sabha seat to its credit in UP, in its place, publicly.
“Right now, talks are under way between the two parties. We have had several rounds of talks. They have sent us lists and we have sent them as well. The moment seat-sharing is finalised, Samajwadi Party will join their Nyay Yatra,” Akhilesh told reporters on Monday.
With SP now pressing hard for an early finalisation of seat-sharing talks and appearing keen to push forth on its own terms, sources said a formal announcement may be made within the next 24 hours to prevent Congress being left red-faced by Akhilesh’s “abandonment” on UP turf.
With 80 seats up for the taking, SP had unilaterally announced 11 seats for Congress in UP shortly after Nitish Kumar left the INDIA bloc embarrassed with his dramatic exit from the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar.
The move was then seen as a face-saver that sought to underscore that the INDIA bloc was alive and well in at least one key state, especially after back-to-back setbacks in West Bengal and Bihar.