Lucknow: Even as the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election is still months away and no party has officially announced candidates, the Samajwadi Party (SP) has quietly moved ahead with preparations by identifying and clearing contenders for a large number of constituencies.
According to senior party sources, SP has internally finalised candidates for more than half of the state's 403 Assembly seats and directed them to begin groundwork in their respective constituencies. The names have not been formally announced, but the selected leaders have been asked to intensify public outreach, strengthen booth-level networks and consolidate local caste and social equations.
Party insiders said the leadership has given a green signal to candidates in constituencies where sitting legislators remain strong, where SP narrowly lost in the previous election, and where local surveys have identified winnable faces. While the Election Commission's announcement of the poll schedule will determine the formal release of candidates, the party has effectively begun preparations on the ground.
Political observers view the exercise as carrying another strategic objective. It comes at a time when SP and the Indian National Congress are expected to begin negotiations over seat sharing for the 2027 Assembly election.
Following the opposition alliance's strong performance in Uttar Pradesh during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Congress leaders are believed to be preparing a more aggressive claim for Assembly seats than in previous elections. The party has reportedly asked its state unit to identify strong candidates in 100 to 125 constituencies and has instructed organisational units to remain active across all 403 seats as part of a contingency plan.
SP leaders, however, believe the party's improved position after the Lok Sabha polls strengthens its claim to contest the overwhelming majority of seats. By identifying candidates early and activating them on the ground, the party is effectively marking territories where it considers itself the principal challenger to the BJP.
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A senior SP functionary said the early exercise would help the party assess organisational strength, build momentum and establish its claim over constituencies well before alliance negotiations formally begin. "Those who have been cleared internally have been told to start working among the people and strengthen the organisation. The idea is to ensure that the party enters the election fully prepared whenever it is announced," the leader said.
For now, neither party has publicly discussed numbers. However, with SP quietly activating candidates across much of the state and Congress preparing its own list of potential contenders, the groundwork for a tough round of seat-sharing negotiations appears to have already begun.
