‘Will Follow Gathbandhan Dharm’: Congress May Not Contest Bypolls On 9 UP Seats; Here’s Why – News18

Congress may not contest from any of the nine assembly seats up for grabs in the upcoming by-polls scheduled for November 13 in Uttar Pradesh. Party insiders have described the Congress’s possible decision as ‘a part of evolving political strategy’ and said that the decision aligns with a broader seat-sharing arrangement, which also encompasses the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections on November 20.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, however, said that the talks with Congress are still on, whereas in Maharashtra, he is hopeful of his party contesting 12 seats, finalised by the state president. Congress UP Chief Ajai Rai told News18 that they have always followed the ‘Gathbandhan Dharm’, unlike SP, and the final call on the number of seats on which the party will contest polls will be taken by the party higher-ups.

However, in the midst of talks and endless discussions between the SP and its INDIA bloc partner Congress, party insiders said that Congress may choose not to contest the UP assembly by-elections on any of the seats and the party would continue to follow the ‘Gathbandhan Dharm’ and will support SP on all the seats. “We may not be contesting on any of the seats but our workers would continue to support SP on all the seats in UP,” a party insider said.

According to party insiders, Congress’s possible decision to skip the UP bypolls is a fallout of the rejection of its proposal to contest five assembly seats. Some senior leaders, however, suggest it’s part of a new seat-sharing formula where Congress is giving Samajwadi Party (SP) a free hand in UP, while in Maharashtra, it expects SP to field candidates on a lesser number of seats, allowing Congress to contest the maximum number of seats in the upcoming state assembly polls.

On October 9, a day after Congress suffered an unexpected loss in the Haryana assembly elections, the party was in for another surprise from its INDIA bloc partner SP when it declared candidates for seven out of 10 bypoll-bound assembly seats, including the ones being eyed by the Congress.

Congress’s Uttar Pradesh in-charge, Avinash Pandey, had also expressed his discontent, stating, “This is a one-sided announcement, and we were not consulted about it.”

The SP had announced its candidate for Karhal, Katehari, Kundarki, Phulpur, Sisamu, Majhawan and Meerapur. The SP’s much-talked-about names include Akhilesh Yadav’s cousin Tej Pratap Yadav, who has been fielded from Karhal, while Congress was offered two seats, named Khair and Ghaziabad Sadar, against their demand of five seats.

Congress, which secured six parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, had requested that the SP allocate five vacant assembly seats previously won by the BJP in 2022. A senior Congress leader had stated that the party was particularly interested in the Majhawan, Ghaziabad, Khair, Meerapur, and Phulpur seats. However, the SP had already announced its candidates for Majhawan, Meerapur, and Phulpur, complicating the seat-sharing negotiations.

Ajay Rai, President of Congress Uttar Pradesh, told News18, “We will fight together to uproot this jungle raj. In the UP by-elections, our fight will remain against the BJP as usual. We have always followed the ‘Gathbandhan Dharm,’ unlike SP, which announced candidates for seven seats without discussing our request to contest five seats. However, the final decision on seat-sharing will be made by the party higher-ups.”

SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav addressed the ongoing seat-sharing discussions with Congress for the Uttar Pradesh by-elections, stating, “Talks with Congress over seat sharing in UP are still ongoing.” Regarding Maharashtra Assembly polls, he stated that SP would only contest seats where they have a strong organisational presence. “We have certain parameters for claiming our share of tickets. Our state president has decided on candidates for 12 seats, and we hope we will be allotted these,” he added.

Bypolls were initially scheduled for 10 seats in UP; however, the Election Commission of India announced elections only for nine seats — Karhal, Sisamau, Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Phulpur, Majhawan, Katehri, Khair, and Meerapur — excluding Milkipur. Voting is set for November 13, with counting on November 23. The SP has so far announced candidates for a total of seven seats, including Milkipur.