Lok Sabha 2024: Congress to contest 17 seats in UP, Samajwadi party get remaining 63

INDIA bloc partners SP and Congress on Wednesday announced a tie-up for the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with UP's main opposition party leaving 17 out of the 80 seats in the state for the ally.

In Madhya Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party will contest on a single seat, Khajuraho, and support the Congress in the remaining constituencies in the state.

Among the 17 seats on which the Congress will contest in UP included Raebareli and Amethi, once considered pocket boroughs of the party, and Varanasi which is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency.

Also Read: Akhilesh Yadav after skipping Rahul Gandhi's Yatra: All's well that ends well

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav today dismissed speculation of a strain in ties with the Congress while saying that the alliance with the party was on in Uttar Pradesh and there was no dispute with Rahul Gandhi.

"All is well that ends well...there is no dispute...there will be an alliance," Akhilesh Yadav said when asked about his absence from Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' in Amethi and Rae Bareli.

Earlier this week, Akhilesh Yadav had said he would join Rahul Gandhi's yatra only after seat sharing was finalised.

The state units of both parties are likely to hold a joint press conference soon to formally announce the alliance.

As per the latest arrangement, Congress has been given the Sitapur seat instead of Hathras. The Congress had initially submitted a list of 28 seats it wanted to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.