NEW DELHI — The Indian National Congress has begun internal preparations to stake a claim to 125 to 150 seats in an electoral coalition with the Samajwadi Party (SP) for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra held an extensive three-hour strategy session with state party leadership to analyze data across roughly 175 constituencies, preparing a structured proposal ahead of seat-sharing negotiations with SP president Akhilesh Yadav.
Key Takeaways
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Targeted Seat Claim: The Congress is preparing a wishlist of 125 to 150 constituencies, categorizing seats based on past parliamentary and state election performances.
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Negotiation Leadership: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will lead discussions with Samajwadi Party leadership, targeting a finalized seat-sharing agreement by November.
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Formula Based on Recent Performance: Building on its 2024 parliamentary performance—where the party won six Lok Sabha seats and led in 38 Assembly segments—Congress aims to contest at least one Assembly segment within every parliamentary constituency.
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Divergent Seat Expectations: While Congress leadership envisions a substantial allocation, the Samajwadi Party is expected to offer around 60 to 65 seats, emphasizing strict candidate viability.
Categorization Strategy and Electoral Data
To build a data-backed negotiation framework, the Congress state unit mapped out prospective constituencies into three distinct tiers:
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Category A: Approximately 100 high-priority seats where the party showed strong electoral momentum or secured second place in recent election cycles.
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Category B: 40 to 50 moderately competitive constituencies with active local party cadre.
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Category C: 25 to 35 supplementary seats held by senior leaders or targeted for strategic expansion.
The proposed list includes segments across traditional strongholds such as Amethi and Rae Bareli, as well as several seats currently held by Samajwadi Party legislators in districts like Saharanpur.
Political Arithmetic and Party Leadership Reorganization
While both coalition partners agree on the necessity of a united front against the ruling administration, reaching a consensus on seat allocation presents a strategic challenge. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has reportedly begun vetting candidates across nearly 350 of the state’s 403 seats, maintaining that candidate “winnability” must determine seat distribution.
To facilitate coordination with coalition partners, Congress recently restructured its state organization, appointing three-term legislator Aradhana Misra as state unit chief and Member of Parliament Imran Masood as working president to strengthen regional leadership and community outreach.
