Congress confirms UP alliance, starts seat-sharing talks with SP

Voting for 403 assembly seats in UP will be spread over seven phases starting from February 11

The Congress bargained hard with the Samajwadi Party on Tuesday, as the two parties tried to work out a seat-sharing formula as part of a grand alliance to counter the BJP in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls 2017.

Shortly after confirming the alliance in Lucknow, Congress member Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is in charge of UP affairs, started seat-sharing negotiations with SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav.

The development came a day after Akhilesh Yadav was awarded the party's official symbol, the bicycle, in what is seen as a major political setback for his estranged father, Mulayam Singh.

Mulayam, on his part submitted 38