Amid reports that alliance talks between Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress have hit a dead end, Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal on Tuesday asserted that seat-sharing talks are on and a final deal could be announced any point of time.
“It [seat-sharing] is in final stage. Anytime, it can be finalised,” Mr. Venugopal told reporters at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in response to a question on whether the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) has derailed in Uttar Pradesh.
Specifically asked if the Congress would accept the SP offer of 17 seats as the final offer, Mr. Venugopal said, “The discussion is going on. It will be finalised at any point of time. Wait for sometime.”
The last round of discussion between leaders of the Congress and the SP was held on February 19, sources added. On Monday, the SP had declared 11 more candidates from UP for the upcoming General Election, including don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s brother and BSP MP Afzal Ansari. The first list of list of candidates for 16 Lok Sabha seats was announced on January 30.
Out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats, the SP offered 17 seats with the condition that SP chief Akhilesh would join Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, that is passing through UP now, only if the Congress accepts their offer.
Asked about other INDIA bloc partners talking about fighting the Lok Sabha polls alone, Mr. Venugopal said, “We are in the process. Our alliance team is there and Congress President has appointed a team of leaders for alliance.”
“They are discussing with everybody, day after day. We have great hope that a solution will come,” he added.
