In a significant development in Uttar Pradesh’s political landscape, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress Party have joined forces to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections under the banner of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. This marks the first major alliance announced by the opposition for any state ahead of the general elections.

The alliance was formalized with an agreement where the Congress will field candidates in 17 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, while the remaining 63 seats will see candidates from the I.N.D.I.A. Alliance, comprising the SP and other allied parties. The announcement came through a joint press conference addressed by Uttar Pradesh SP President Naresh Uttam Patel and UP Congress Chief Ajay Rai, along with Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande.

“I am delighted to tell you that it has been decided that in Uttar Pradesh the INC will contest 17 seats and the remaining 63 seats will have candidates of INDIA Alliance – from SP and other parties,” stated Pande during the press briefing.

The Congress Party has strategically chosen its battlegrounds, with strongholds like Rai Bareli and Amethi included in its list of contested seats. However, it’s worth noting that Amethi, once a stronghold, was lost to the BJP in the 2019 elections, and Sonia Gandhi, who represented Rai Bareli multiple times, will not seek re-election from there after being elected to the Rajya Sabha.

One of the most closely watched contests is expected to be in Varanasi, where the Congress candidate is likely to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has secured two landslide victories from the seat in consecutive elections.

Expressing confidence in the alliance, UP Congress chief Ajay Rai stated, “Our (Congress-Samajwadi Party) strategy is to stand firmly with each other. Samajwadi Party will contest elections on 63 seats while Congress will contest on 17 seats in Uttar Pradesh.”

Moreover, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav confirmed his party’s alliance with the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, affirming, “We will partner with Congress, there are no issues in the alliance.” He further added, “Ant bhala toh sab bhala” (All’s well if the end’s well), exuding confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party “will be defeated.”

Aside from Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party also declared its intent to contest one seat, Khajuraho, in Madhya Pradesh while extending support to the Congress Party in the remaining constituencies.