I.N.D.I.A. Seat-Sharing: Congress, SP Hold Talks For LS Polls. Next Meeting On Jan 12

After the meeting, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said that all the seats were discussed. The next meeting has been scheduled to be held on January 12. 

In a significant development, the Congress and Samajwadi Party convened a crucial meeting on Tuesday, January 9, to discuss seat sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The meeting to discuss Uttar Pradesh seats was held at Congress alliance committee chief Mukul Wasnik's residence. After the meeting, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said that all the seats were discussed. The next meeting has been scheduled to be held on January 12. 

"The meeting was held in a very positive environment. Everyone is happy. More progress will take place on January 12," he stated. 

When asked about the inclusion of Bahujan Samaj Party in the alliance, he stated: "Why should we do discussions with BSP."

SP leader Javed Ali stated that negotiations on specific problems for the alliance had taken place and that "we will have another round of talks on January 12 and then details will be worked out."

The Congress is undertaking state-by-state negotiations with various parties of the INDIA alliance before finalising seat-sharing arrangements with them.

Earlier, SP has claimed that it will be contesting on 65 of Uttar Pradesh's 80 Lok Sabha seats in next year's general assembly elections. The Samajwadi Party and the Congress recently clashed over seat allocation for the recently-concluded Madhya Pradesh assembly elections. Tensions rose when the SP, despite their anticipation, did not get any seats from the Congress to fight the MP elections because the latter refused to consider seat-sharing. Akhilesh went on the offensive against the Congress. As a result, SP ran for 69 MP seats on its own. The SP won no seats, while the Congress also failed to unseat the BJP in the central Indian state.

The SP was responsible for the loss of four Congress candidates. Both parties' leaders attacked each other, but the Congress side's rhetorical brawl halted following the election outcome.

The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is a coalition of 28 political parties formed to oppose the incumbent BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.