After late night talks, SP and Cong seal deal

“creative work undertaken by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav” and keeping the interest of the people of the state in mind.

Both parties said the intention was to challenge “divisive forces like the BJP”, and giving a government that was above the politics of “caste and religion”.

The announcement came on the day Akhilesh announced the SP election manifesto, focusing on youth, women and infrastructure, and promising new freebies for multiple sections of society — pressure cookers for poor women, cycles for girls in Classes 9 and 10, smartphones for the youth, desi ghee and milk powder for schoolchildren, and a monthly pension of Rs 1,000 to about 1 crore people.

Talks on the alliance were sealed late Saturday night after Sonia Gandhi, her daughter Priyanka Vadra, and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad intervened in the negotiations on the side of the Congress, and Akhilesh Yadav and party veteran Azam Khan on the side of the SP. Through Saturday, the SP had offered to give up 99-100 seats, but the Congress wanted more.

There were hiccups even after the deal was struck. The SP said Babbar and Patel would make the announcement at a press conference at its headquarters in Lucknow, but at the last moment, the venue was shifted to a five-star hotel, reportedly after strong objections from Congress leaders including Babbar.

Babbar and Patel did not say which specific seats each party would contest. They also did not clarify whether the SP would withdraw the candidates it had named on Friday for 10 seats at which the Congress has sitting MLAS — Mathura, Bilaspur, Kidvai Nagar, Khurja, Syana, Hapur, Swar, Gangoh, Shamli and Prayagpur.

The SP has MLAS at seven of the 10 assembly segments in the Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituencies.

“Samajwadi Party and Congress will jointly contest the elections in Uttar Pradesh and will make all efforts to make Akhilesh Yadav the chief minister once again. SP has made an appeal to all party workers to ensure the victory of candidates of the Spcongress alliance,” Patel said.

Babbar said the Congress had taken a historic decision on the appeal of people of “likeminded ideology” and of intellectuals, for the progress and growth of the people of UP. “SP and Congress are ready for a pre-poll alliance,” he said.

Asked about the Congress campaign of “27 saal, UP behaal”, which also included the years ruled by the SP, the state Congress president reiterated that the alliance would take UP towards progress.