'Add one to 180': Akhilesh Yadav on ally Congress's seat demand for UP assembly polls

Asked if the Grand Old Party had asked for 200, Yadav said: “Slightly less than that”. Asked if they had sought 180, he said: “Add one to 180”.

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The Congress is seeking to fight on 181 of the 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh next year, the party’s ally and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday.

Asked how many seats the Congress has asked to fight on, and whether it was 100, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said at the HT Leadership Summit 2026: “Look, our relationship with the Congress party is very good. And the number of seats they have asked for is higher than what you are suggesting.”

Asked if the Grand Old Party had asked for 200, Yadav said: “Slightly less than that”. Asked if they had sought 180, he said: “Add one to 180”.

The Congress' graph in Uttar Pradesh has been dipping since 1989, when it last held power in the most populous state of the country. The party contested the 2022 Uttar Pradesh polls on its own but could win just two seats, faring worse than its seven-seat show in 2017. The SP won 111 seats in 2022.

The 2024 Lok Sabha poll results, when the Congress won six seats in alliance with the SP that won 37 seats to limit the BJP to 33, have, however, raised the party's hopes, Congress leaders admitted.

The assembly elections are scheduled to be held in early 2027. The SP has announced that it will release its 'Jan-Man Manifesto' for the elections on November 26, coinciding with Constitution Day.

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