INDIA bloc struggling to finalise seat sharing agreement for upcoming polls

On Monday, the Congress indicated that it could opt out of contesting on the nine Assembly seats in UP that are scheduled for voting on November 13

A consensus has eluded the INDIA bloc parties in reaching a seat-sharing agreement for contesting the Assembly elections in Jharkhand and the bypolls in some states, especially Uttar Pradesh.

On Monday, the Congress indicated that it could opt out of contesting for bypolls on the nine Assembly seats in UP that are scheduled for voting on November 13. The Samajwadi Party, a constituent of the INDIA bloc, has announced candidates on seven seats, and the Congress is unhappy at the former’s offer that it should contest only two seats.

In the 2022 Assembly polls, the SP had won four of the nine seats, and its then ally, the Rashtriya Lok Dal, won one seat. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance had won four. The SP has left the Ghaziabad and Khair Assembly seats for the Congress. The Congress and SP had an alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, under which the former contested 17 seats.

 

In Madhya Pradesh, the SP on Monday announced its candidate for the Budhni bypoll against the Congress candidate. The SP, however, will not contest the Vijaypur bypoll in the state. The bypoll in Budhni has been necessitated because of Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan vacating the seat after he was elected to the Lok Sabha.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal and Left parties have been upset at the seats allocated to them for the Jharkhand Assembly polls. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress have announced they will contest 70 seats, leaving 11 for the RJD and Left parties.