Congress seeks equal seat-sharing deal with Samajwadi Party for 2027 UP polls

Newly appointed Uttar Pradesh Congress in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam on Wednesday indicated that the party would seek an equal seat-sharing arrangement with the Samajwadi Party for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Addressing his first press conference after taking charge, Gautam said, "We will go into the elections with equality and respect."

His remarks come after the Congress and the Samajwadi Party contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections together as part of the INDIA bloc in Uttar Pradesh. The alliance won 43 seats and restricted the BJP to 33, including in Ayodhya, where the SP's Awadhesh Prasad became the first Dalit to win the Lok Sabha seat. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has also indicated that the alliance is likely to continue for the 2027 Assembly polls.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state, the SP won 37 seats and the Congress won six.

Replying to questions from reporters, Gautam said, "Of course, we have always shown a big heart. We are the bigger party nationally and we seek equality and respect (in the alliance)." He said only by giving the Congress its due respect could a winning atmosphere be created.

He added, "In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, we were the elder brother, which is why we (INDIA bloc) won more seats. Regional parties no longer have the capacity to take on and defeat the BJP. Across the country, only Rahul Gandhi is fighting the BJP." Gautam also said that if the Congress was not given its due respect within the alliance, it would amount to giving the BJP a "walkover".

A prominent Dalit leader who heads the Congress' Scheduled Caste Department at the national level, Gautam said the party would strengthen its organisation across Uttar Pradesh within a month.

Gautam said the Congress would fight to protect the Constitution and accused the BJP of spreading hatred against Dalits, backward classes and minorities. He also alleged that the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government had failed to stop examination paper leaks and provide enough government jobs.

Stepping up his attack on the BJP and the RSS, Gautam alleged that they "hate Dalits and tribals". He claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not invite then president Ram Nath Kovind to the Ram temple foundation ceremony and President Droupadi Murmu to the temple inauguration because they belonged to Dalit and tribal communities.

Claiming that only the Congress could defeat the BJP, he further alleged that the ruling party had used religion for political gains. He said the Congress would defeat the BJP in the next Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and ensure that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi becomes prime minister after the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

Gautam also alleged corruption in temple construction and claimed BJP and RSS functionaries had taken commissions from temple projects. He said Congress leaders who raised such issues were being placed under house arrest. He was referring to the alleged embezzlement of donations to the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Gautam had courted controversy in May when he and several Dalit Congress leaders made an unauthorised visit to BSP chief Mayawati's Lucknow residence but failed to meet her, after which the Congress issued show-cause notices to them. The party had said the visit was not authorised and was made in their individual capacity, while Gautam said it was an impromptu courtesy call to ask about Mayawati's health and had no political overtones.

Thanking Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for appointing him as the party's Uttar Pradesh in-charge, Gautam said he was committed to strengthening the organisation and taking the party forward in the state.

At his first press conference in the role, Gautam combined a push for a more equal alliance arrangement with the Samajwadi Party and a wider political attack on the BJP, while saying his immediate focus would be on strengthening the Congress organisation in Uttar Pradesh.

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