Samajwadi Party Releases 3rd List of Candidates for LS Polls Amidst Standoff with Congress

Lucknow: Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party on Tuesday released its third list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, adding five more contenders to the fray. Notably, one candidate has been nominated for the Varanasi constituency, currently held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Other constituencies include Kairana, Badayun, Bareilly and Hamirpur, bringing the party’s total announced candidates to 32.

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— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) February 20, 2024

This announcement follows a standoff with the Congress party over seat allocations. While the SP initially offered 11 seats to the Congress, it increased the offer to 17 in light of Rashtriya Lok Dal’s decision to join the NDA. However, the Congress, seeking additional seats, is yet to respond to the revised offer.

In the backdrop of past electoral performances, where the Congress secured only one seat in Uttar Pradesh in 2019, tensions have risen between the two parties. The SP argues that the Congress’s prospects may not improve this time, particularly with speculation surrounding Sonia Gandhi’s potential exit from the Lok Sabha.

Meanwhile, in other key states like Bengal and Maharashtra, seat-sharing discussions also face hurdles. Mamata Banerjee’s decision to go solo in Bengal came after failed negotiations with the Congress, while talks in Maharashtra remain stalled over eight seats, including Pune and two in Mumbai.