SP offers 17 seats to Cong in UP, says Akhilesh will join Yatra only if proposal is accepted

SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary/ Screengrab

The Samajwadi Party (SP) said on Monday that it has given the Congress 17 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, with the condition that SP head Akhilesh Yadav participate in Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra only if the proposal is accepted.

Rajendra Chaudhary, the Samajwadi Party's chief spokesperson, declared that SP has extended a last offer of 17 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress. Akhilesh Yadav's participation in the Nyay Yatra in Raebareli on Tuesday is contingent on their consent. However, he refused to reveal the particular seats offered to Congress.

"We have given a final offer of 17 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress. Akhilesh Yadav's participation in the Nyay Yatra in Raebareli on Tuesday will depend on their acceptance," Chaudhary told PTI.

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Meanwhile, another report quoted Akhilesh Yadav saying that the moment seats and distributed and decided upon, SP will join the march. Akhilesh Yadav, per agency reports, told the media, "Right now talks are going on, lists have come from their side and from ours as well, the moment the seats are distributed and decided, the Samajwadi Party will join Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra."

The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, led by Rahul Gandhi, is currently passing through Amethi and will continue to Raebareli. Akhilesh Yadav had previously stated his intention to join the yatra in Raebareli. Meanwhile, a Congress statement on Sunday stated that party head Mallikarjun Kharge would attend the yatra in Amethi.

Previously, the Samajwadi Party promised the Congress 11 seats, but the state unit requested a larger share. Ajay Rai, the Congress' Uttar Pradesh unit president, urged for the party to win approximately two dozen seats, noting its record in the 2009 national elections.

The Samajwadi Party and the Congress are allies in the opposition INDIA group. In Uttar Pradesh's 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress won only one of the state's 80 seats; they won from the Raebareli seat.

Earlier on Monday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, when questioned about the SP Chief joining the Bharat Jodo Naya Yatra, had said, "I expect that he will join the Yatra on Tuesday. Earlier, Apna Dal (K) leader Pallavi Patel also joined the yatra."

With ANI inputs