Barring a last minute reversal, chances of a Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance in Uttar Pradesh look increasingly dim after the two sides failed to agree on distribution of seats in the 403-member Assembly.
With the SP officially scheduled to releaseits election manifesto on Sunday morning, a formal decision on the alliance also is expected by then.
The SP on Friday snubbed the Congress by releasing a list of more than 200 candidates, including 10 seats with sitting Congress MLAs and seats in the Nehru-Gandhi pocket boroughs of Amethi and Rae Bareli.
At the end of day of hectic parleys, including a long meeting between Congress strategist Prashant Kishor and U.P. Chief Minister and SP cheif Akhilesh Yadav, sources said the SP was willing to stretch the Congress’ share to 100-110 seats.
The Congress has been demanding nothing less than 120 seats.
With some Congress sources saying the party had claimed as many as 138 seats, SP leader Naresh Agarwal termed the party “stubborn”, accusing it of over-estimating its worth. Mr. Agarwal went on to say that the chances of an alliance were “nearly over”.
On Friday, the SP had said that the Congress deserved no more than 54 seats but the party was willing to give it an extra 25-30 through talks. The Congress then drastically raised its claim, demanding over 120 seats, a figure SP leaders and even some State Congress leaders termed ridiculous.
The Congress won only 28 seats in 2012.
The Congress, while indicating serious disagreements, kept options open. The party central election committee comprising the party’s top leadership met in Delhi to decide on the alliance but they had not taken a decision till late in the evening. “We may be able to take a call only by Sunday on whether there will be an alliance. After that, we will announce our candidates,” said a Congress leader.
Congress general secretary in-charge of U.P. Ghulam Nabi Azad said the party had cleared “seats for the first and second phase”, of elections. “All will be clear by [Sunday] morning,” he said.
