Amid the reports of alliance talks breaking down with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal on Monday stated that the grand old party is hopeful over seat-sharing discussions with SP, and it will soon release the final decision. "Seat-sharing discussions with SP in UP are going on, it is in the final stage and we will announce it soon," he stated.
Earlier today, as per the sources, Congress and the Samajwadi Party were unable to strike a seat-sharing deal on Monday. Sources told ABP News that Akhilesh Yadav refused to give up the Moradabad, Ballia, and Bijnor seats to the Congress.
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On the other hand, while speaking with media on Tuesday morning, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh stated: "Talks are going on and there is a positive atmosphere. Samajwadi Party wants to contest elections with the INDIA alliance and we also want the alliance to become stronger. Akhilesh Yadav's statement yesterday was very positive and we want the seat-sharing formula to be decided soon," news agency ANI reported.
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As per the sources, the Samajwadi Party offered the Congress 17 Lok Sabha seats on Monday, including Amethi, Rae Bareli, Varanasi, Amroha, Baghpat, Saharanpur, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Fatehpur Sikri, Hathras, Jhansi, Barabanki, Kanpur, Sitapur, Kaiserganj, and Maharajganj. However, Congress requested 20 seats.