Gonda, Aug 10: BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Monday claimed that the Congress lacks an independent political base in Uttar Pradesh and could make electoral gains in the 2027 Assembly elections only by contesting in alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP).
His remarks come as political parties begin preparing for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with the Congress increasingly pressing for an early start to negotiations with the SP over seat-sharing. The two parties have been allies in recent electoral contests, and the question of seat distribution is expected to become an important component of their strategy for the upcoming polls.
The Congress has maintained that seat-sharing should be based primarily on the winnability of individual constituencies rather than simply dividing the 403 Assembly seats according to a fixed numerical formula. The party has also indicated that it wants to strengthen its organisational presence while seeking an alliance arrangement based on what it describes as equality and mutual respect.
Singh dismissed the Congress' independent electoral prospects in the state, arguing that the party would benefit mainly by leveraging the SP's organisational and electoral strength.
“They have no standing of their own. They can win only a few seats by riding on the Samajwadi Party's shoulders,” Singh said, adding that the Congress could gain to some extent if it contested the election as part of an alliance.
The SP, however, declined to respond directly to Singh's remarks. When asked about the BJP leader's comments, senior SP leader and MP Ram Gopal Yadav said there was nothing for the party to comment on.
The Congress has recently signalled that it intends to approach the 2027 Assembly elections with greater emphasis on rebuilding its organisation in Uttar Pradesh and negotiating its relationship with the SP from a position of greater confidence.
Rajendra Pal Gautam, recently appointed as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Uttar Pradesh, has said that the party would contest the next Assembly election with “equality and respect”, a formulation that could assume significance during seat-sharing negotiations.
The Congress and SP have previously fought elections together in Uttar Pradesh. Their most prominent pre-2024 alliance came during the 2017 Assembly elections, when the parties joined hands under the slogan “UP ke do ladke”, referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
However, the alliance failed to produce the expected electoral gains. The Congress was allocated 106 of the state's 403 Assembly seats but won only seven constituencies. The SP also suffered a setback as the BJP secured a decisive victory.
The two parties subsequently contested the 2022 Assembly elections separately. The Congress' performance deteriorated further, with the party winning just two seats in the state.
The political equation changed significantly after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when the Congress and SP once again contested together as part of the INDIA bloc. The alliance delivered a substantially stronger performance, winning a combined 43 of Uttar Pradesh's 80 parliamentary constituencies.
The 2024 result revived the prospects of closer cooperation between the two parties and altered perceptions about their combined electoral strength. With the 2027 Assembly elections approaching, both parties now face the challenge of translating their parliamentary performance into a successful state-level strategy.
The forthcoming seat-sharing negotiations are therefore expected to be closely watched, particularly as the Congress seeks a larger and more influential role while the SP remains the dominant opposition force in Uttar Pradesh.
(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
