The alliance between the Congress and Samajwadi Party was sealed on Wednesday after days of speculation over whether the talks would fructify. The Congress party will contest 17 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, while the remaining 63 seats have been allocated to Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) and other coalition partners of the INDIA bloc.
Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande, while addressing a presser, said, "I am delighted to tell you that it has been decided that in Uttar Pradesh the INC will contest on 17 seats and the remaining 63 seats will have candidates from the INDIA Alliance - from SP and other parties."
This announcement marks the first significant arrangement on seat allocation among partners of the Opposition-led INDIA bloc.
The seat-sharing arrangement in Uttar Pradesh was solidified after Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's meeting with Akhilesh Yadav, aimed at resolving the weeks-long deadlock between the two parties, reports claimed.
According to the agreement, Congress will contest following Lok Sabha seats in UP:
Raebareli
Amethi
Kanpur
Fatehpur Sikri
Bans Ganv
Saharanpur
Prayagraj
Maharajganj
Varanasi
Amroha
Jhansi
Bulandshahr
Ghaziabad
Mathura
Sitapur
Barabanki
Deoria
Following his discussion with Priyanka Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav had confirmed that an alliance between the Samajwadi Party and Congress will materialiae in Uttar Pradesh.
