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Congress, SP close to seal alliance for UP assembly polls

“Seat sharing has been discussed and both parties have almost come to a settlement on the issue,” IANS quoted a state Congress leader as saying.

Congress, SP close to seal alliance for UP assembly polls

New Delhi: The Congress and the ruling Samajwadi Party are holding “serious” talks to forge an alliance for the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh next year, a media report said on Monday.

“Serious talks are going on between Samajwadi Party and Congress for an alliance.

“Seat sharing has been discussed and both parties have almost come to a settlement on the issue,” IANS quoted a state Congress leader as saying.

The Samajawadi Party has agreed to offer 110 of the total 403 assembly seats to Congress, the leader told the news agency requesting anonymity.

The Samajwadi Party now holds 229 seats, the principal opposition Bahujan Samaj Party has 80 while the Congress has 29 legislators.

The talks between the two parties have been going on for some time now.

Speculations about a possible alliance were rife after Congress poll strategist Prashant Kishor met Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Akhilesh Yadav had on December 2 said a Samajwadi-Congress combine can win over 300 seats in Uttar Pradesh.

He also asserted that his party would not perceive the Congress as a “junior partner” in an alliance.