 "Want 20 Lok Sabha seats in UP: Congress tells Samajwadi Party in key meet")
Lok Sabha elections 2024: The Congress party, during a key meeting with the Uttar Pradesh INDIA ally Samajwadi Party (SP) on Wednesday, expressed its interest in contesting from 20 out of the total 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, the Economic Times reported.
Both the parties, part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA bloc), held the meeting to discuss seat-sharing strategy and agreed on 'winnability' as the key criteria to decide the allocation of seats, the report added.
Notably, the Congress had won only one seat in UP in the last general elections. At present, the party is only confined to Rae Bareli seat, held by Congress veteran Sonia Gandhi.
With 80 constituencies, UP has the most Lok Sabha members in Parliament.
Congress-AAP discuss seat sharing
The development comes after the Congress party held a similar meeting with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday. In a boost for the INDIA bloc, the two parties also agreed to jointly fight Chandigarh mayoral polls. Congress had agreed to fight the polls on senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor posts, letting the AAP have the mayoral seat contest. However, the poll was cancelled.
Notably, both Congress and AAP have been facing tensions recently over the obstructions of forming an alliance between their respective state units. The AAP is in power in Delhi and Punjab.
Three parties are members of the 28 non-BJP party opposition bloc, formed last year with the objective to oust the Narendra Modi government in the upcoming general elections, likely scheduled for April-May.
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In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won 353 seats, while the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance won 91 seats. Others won 98.
This time, the BJP plans to break its own record and has set an ambitious goal to win at least 400 seats in the elections.
(With inputs from agencies)