The Congress and the Samajwadi Party are set to put up candidates against each other in most seats in Uttar Pradesh, barring those for Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son, Akhilesh.
The seat-sharing talks between the two parties have turned out to be a disaster. While the top leadership of the two parties has refrained from a political fight in each other’s seats, the Congress is leaving no stone unturned to win as many seats in UP as possible at the cost of the SP and other parties.
Top sources in the party suggest it would field around 60 candidates in the state for the coming polls. The party has already announced 29 candidates, while 20 more were cleared at the screening committee meeting today.
Former Indian cricket skipper Mohammad Azharuddin may also be fielded in Uttar Pradesh.
According to a section of the party, Azharuddin, who was earlier denied a ticket in his home state of Andhra Pradesh, may be fielded in the Moradabad constituency.
His name was also suggested for the Tonk-Sawai Madhopur seat in Rajasthan.
Apart from leaving three seats for the Yadav family, the Congress may also not contest against Sanjay Dutt, son of Congress loyalist and former minister Sunil Dutt.
The actor-turned politician has been fielded as an SP candidate from the prestigious Lucknow seat, currently held by former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. A senior Congress leader said, “A decision about Lucknow will be taken by Soniaji. As of now, we have not discussed the seat at the screening committee level.”
Although Sanjay Dutt has decided to become an SP candidate, his father, the late Sunil Dutt, shared excellent relations with the Nehru-Gandhi family from the days of Jawaharlal Nehru. He was also a minister during the UPA government, while Dutt’s sister, Priya, is a Congress MP from Mumbai. “Given these facts, this is a sensitive decision,” said a Congress veteran.
Meanwhile, the Congress is trying to strengthen its position in Western UP by inducting leaders from other parties. After BJP’s Sompal Shastri, the Congress today inducted Salman Eshar, son of a former SP MP.
