After collapse of the alliance with SP, the Congress has decided to contest 50 to 55 seats out of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh and has begun seat sharing talks with smaller parties having pockets of influence in the state, UPCC President Rita Bahuguna Joshi said today.
"Congress would be contesting some two thirds of the seats coming to 50 to 55 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, while the smaller parties would be given a seat or two where the party is not in a position to field its own candidates," Joshi said here.
With the Samajwadi Party virtually closing the door on a seat sharing deal, Congress has begun parleys with smaller parties having pockets of influence in the state to work out pre-poll alliances, Congress sources said.
"Now there is very little chance of any pre-poll alliance with the Samajwadi Party as it is not even sticking to its promise of not fielding candidates on the seats held by us. So we have opened our doors to the smaller parties for the coming Lok Sabha elections," the sources said.
The Congress has been approached by some parties such as Apna Dal, Bahujan Samaj Swabhiman Sangharsh Samiti and a few other similar parties which have their own pockets of influence in some regions or among certain castes and negotiations with them have started, the party sources said.