Akhilesh Yadav says the Congress is seeking 181 of Uttar Pradesh’s 403 Assembly seats. Congress says seat-sharing talks with the Samajwadi Party will begin on 17 November.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday, 14 November, that the Congress was seeking 181 of the 403 seats in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. He said the INDIA bloc would remain united in its challenge to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Later that day, Congress’s Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam said seat-sharing talks with the Samajwadi Party would begin on 17 November, with the final number to be decided through negotiations.
SP and Congress to open seat-sharing talks on 17 November
At the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi, Yadav said the Congress had asked for more than 100 seats but fewer than 200. When the interviewer suggested 180, he replied, “Add one to 180.”
Yadav said the Samajwadi Party had decided how many seats it wanted to contest, though he did not disclose the figure. Gautam said the parties would discuss the seats they wanted constituency by constituency.
Akhilesh Yadav backs INDIA bloc unity
The Samajwadi Party and Congress have faced pressure from the Rashtriya Lok Dal, a BJP ally, over language and education policy in Uttar Pradesh. At the summit, Yadav said the two parties would continue to work together against the BJP.
Asked about joining hands with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Yadav said he was focused on the existing INDIA alliance. The BSP is outside the bloc. He also said the SP was bringing together voters who identify with B. R. Ambedkar’s principles through its PDA strategy, which focuses on backward communities, Dalits and minorities.
Akhilesh Yadav plans Ayodhya visit and raises temple donations issue
Yadav said he would visit Kedareshwar Dham in Etawah before going to the Ram temple in Ayodhya. A senior SP leader had earlier suggested 12 December for the Ayodhya visit. Yadav thanked voters in Faizabad, the Lok Sabha constituency that includes Ayodhya, where SP candidate Awadhesh Prasad defeated the BJP’s Lallu Singh in 2024.
Yadav accused the state government of failing to safeguard temple offerings and said the alleged theft would feature in the SP’s campaign. The Ram temple trust said in June that its internal audits had found no significant discrepancies. In September, a special investigation team told the Supreme Court that CCTV footage showed 105 instances of unauthorised cash removal. The team found no discrepancies in the handling of certain valuables it examined, including donated silver bricks.
Yadav targets BJP over jobs, teacher recruitment and policing
Jobs and development were also part of the Congress campaign in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. At the summit, Yadav said unemployment, discrimination and unfulfilled investment promises had contributed to the BJP’s setbacks in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Yadav alleged that more than 20 competitive exam papers had leaked in the state and that candidates had been denied their reservation rights in the recruitment of 69,000 assistant teachers. He also criticised the Agniveer military recruitment scheme, saying it had reduced job prospects for young people in Uttar Pradesh.
In his remarks on the BJP-led state government, Yadav also alleged police excesses and fake encounters, accused the government of corruption in infrastructure projects, and questioned the condition of the state’s expressways.
