Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 3 (ANI): Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav issued a gag order to party leaders on Saturday, directing them to keep their opinions on seat-sharing negotiations and the Congress strictly within internal party channels.
The intervention comes amid public friction ahead of formal talks between the two INDIA bloc allies for the upcoming 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
Addressing reporters at an event in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav stepped in to de-escalate public squabbling following sharp remarks from his own party MP, Shiv Pal Singh Patel.
"I would like to tell all our leaders that whatever opinions or concerns they have regarding seat-sharing should be shared with us," said Akhilesh Yadav.
The friction was sparked by SP MP Shiv Pal Singh Patel, who publicly called the Congress party's reported demand for 150 seats unrealistic and cautioned against allocating excess seats that could jeopardise victory.
Patel highlighted the severe disparity in performance during the previous assembly election, noting that while the Congress won just 2 seats, the SP secured 125.
"Given the current circumstances, the Congress party's demands are highly unreasonable. They currently have two MLAs, whereas we have 125. Based on this ratio, they should receive seven or eight seats… We can give them even 50 seats; anything beyond that would simply mean wasting seats and risking defeat," Shiv Pal Singh Patel told ANI.
Patel added that the Congress's "realistic capacity is around 25–30 seats" and emphasised that final decisions rest with the SP national president.
Responding to the rift, newly appointed UP Congress president Aradhana Mishra dismissed the state-level commentary, asserting that seat-sharing will be determined at the national level by the top leadership of the INDIA bloc and its constituent parties.
Speaking to ANI, Mishra asserted that the Congress leadership would decide both the number of seats and the timing of any alliance.
Uttar Pradesh will go to the polls in 2027, with the BJP and the SP expected to be the principal contenders.
The BJP has retained power in Uttar Pradesh by winning 255 out of 403 constituencies, securing a 41.29 per cent vote share.
Former CM Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party came a distant second in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh election, securing 111 seats and getting 32.06 per cent of the votes.
The two other major parties - Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Indian National Congress (INC) - were reduced to a single digit. BSP won one seat and Congress two seats.
Moreover, the vote shares of BSP and the Congress party stood at 12.88 per cent and 2.33 per cent, respectively. (ANI)
"Share concerns within Party": Akhilesh Yadav intervenes as SP MP calls Congress's 150-seat demand "highly unreasonable"
