SP's Candidate Announcement Raises Questions About Congress Alliance In Uttar Pradesh

Denying any link between the two events, Samajwadi Party national spokesperson Aziz Khan, while speaking to Outlook, said releasing the name of the six candidates was part of the preparation for the bypolls expected to take place next month. 

“By releasing candidate names we wanted the preparations to begin on the ground. The people we have to fight are strong people, not in terms of votes but other tantra-mantra. To defeat them we need to be fully prepared so we can take them on.”

Following the Congress-SP duo’s record-breaking Lok Sabha win in the Hindi heartland of UP, there were talks of the two parties joining hands again in the UP byelections for ten vacant Assembly seats.

However, SP's announcement that it will field candidates in six constituencies drew a shocked reaction from the Congress state leadership, who said they weren't consulted.

Earlier reports indicated that Congress was demanding five assembly seats, but an agreement had not been reached. However, the SP's list of six candidates raises questions about their alliance for the polls.

The candidates who have been named are Tej Pratap Yadav from Karhal, Ajit Prasad from Milkipur, Naseem Solanki from Sisamau, Mustafa Siddiqui from Phulpur, Shobhawati Verma from Katehri, and Jyoti Bind from Majhwan.

Aziz Khan says the talks between senior leadership of both parties will soon happen and it is only then that everything will be finalised. “Everything is in process, There is no sourness from either side, there is cooperation from both sides.”

“The issue is that the UP bypolls are not far off, and Congress is not very serious about anything, all talks are held last minute. With bypolls almost here, we have to consider that our fight is against a gigantic force. Our preparation is on all seats, in the end it depends on what is decided after the party leadership holds talks.”

However, the SP spokesperson commented on the recent Haryana results saying the election was a lesson, especially for Congress.

“In Haryana, it is not a win for BJP but a loss of Congress’s way of functioning. Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Kumari Selja alone kept fighting the election. Coordination with party workers and politicians wasn’t adequate. Ticket distribution wasn’t great. There was a bit of arrogance and overconfidence,” he said.

Despite the result, Aziz Khan said the party “was always with Congress and always will be with Congress.”

“Every election is a lesson, this election gave a strong message. Congress should keep its allies close. Every election is important and a cooperation and understanding should be there among parties.”

The Samajwadi Party had hoped for a seat-sharing alliance with the grand old party in the recently concluded Haryana elections but an agreement could not be reached. To respect the INDIA alliance and not pose a competition to Congress, SP had decided not to field any candidates.