Seat sharing between Congress-SP hits a roadblock in Madhya Pradesh

Lucknow: The seat-sharing formula between the Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls has reportedly fallen through.

The strain between both parties, ambitious of pitting themselves as a united front against BJP, is finally showing through.

The two parties are now face-to-face on at least five seats so far as per the list of candidates released from the two sides.

It now remains to be seen if this development has any impact on the seat-sharing talks between the two for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh.

Trouble began when the Congress released a list of 144 candidates for the elections to 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly.

The list included the name of Charan Singh Yadav as party candidate for Bijawar seat (constituency number 52).

In the 2018 Assembly polls, SP’s Rajesh Kumar had won the seat by a margin of over 67,000 votes.

The move left the SP cadres in Madhya Pradesh restless.

Feeling the pulse of the party leaders and cadres, the SP leadership convened a meeting of office-bearers from MP at the party headquarters in Lucknow.

Chaired by SP president Akhilesh Yadav, the meeting was attended by party national general secretary Shivpal Yadav among others.

After a hectic discussion that went beyond a couple of hours, the party decided to formally announce the names of candidates on nine seats.

The list included at least five seats where the Congress has already fielded a candidate.

Senior SP members said the party leadership has decided to contest the MP Assembly polls alone.

“The party leadership will soon declare more names as well,” he said.

Sources have blamed “lack of communication from the Congress end” as the main cause of the two parties contesting MP polls independently.

IANS