Talks of alliance with Congress for LS polls in progress: SP chief Akhilesh

Lucknow, Jan 20 (PTI) Talks of an alliance with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls are in progress, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday.

Talking to reporters at the SP headquarters here, he said several meetings have taken place in Delhi and more will be held soon.

"We are in talks of an alliance with the Congress and a way will be found," said Yadav, whose SP, like the Congress, is part of the 28-member opposition INDIA bloc. The alliance, which also includes the TMC, the DMK and the AAP, was formed to take on the BJP in the general elections.

Constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) are engaged in seat- sharing talks in different states.

Yadav's remarks come a day after the SP and the Jayant Chaudhary-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) reached a seat sharing agreement in Uttar Pradesh for the polls.

"The INDIA bloc should be strong. The question is not about which party gets how many seats but about winnability," he added.

Though the SP had no formal alliance with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the Yadav-led party had not fielded any candidate from the Rae Bareli and Amethi seats, which were contested by Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi, respectively.

The state sends 80 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha. PTI