Blow to INDIA, Akhilesh Yadav refuses to join Rahul Gandhi’s yatra till seat-sharing plan sealed

Shubhadeep Choudhury

New Delhi, February 19

The disagreement between the Congress and Samajwadi Party over the sharing of seats in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming General Election on Monday cast a shadow over the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (BJNY) and came as another setback to the INDIA bloc unity.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav on Monday refrained from joining the rally addressed jointly by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, saying he would join the Manipur-to-Mumbai “yatra” – currently passing through UP – once the seat-sharing deal between the two sides was finalised.

The Congress has been offered 17 Lok Sabha seats in UP, the SP said on Monday and asserted that Akhilesh would join the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Raebareli only if the proposal was accepted.

“We have given a final offer of 17 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress. Akhilesh Yadav’s participation in the Nyay Yatra in Raebareli on Tuesday will depend on their acceptance,” said Rajendra Chaudhary, SP’s chief spokesperson. He, however, refused to identify the seats offered to the Congress. The Samajwadi Party had earlier offered 11 seats to the grand old party while the Congress’ state unit demanded a higher allocation. The Congress secured victory only from the Raebareli seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from UP. At 80, the state sends the highest number of MPs to Parliament.

Kharge had extended an invitation to Akhilesh, asking the SP chief to join yatra either in Amethi or in Raebareli. Amethi, considered a pocket borough of the Gandhi family, sprung a surprise in 2019 by electing BJP’s Smriti Irani with Rahul Gandhi becoming the runner-up in the race.

The Congress party’s prospects in Raebareli, another Gandhi family bastion, too, has come under cloud with the incumbent MP Sonia Gandhi opting for the Rajya Sabha route to reach the Parliament.

Rahul Gandhi’s next stop is going to be Raebareli. It is unclear whether Akhilesh will show up there. Kharg, meanwhile, played down the issue: “Everything will be alright. He (Akhilesh) has agreed and our people have agreed too. There is no problem,” he said at Amethi today.

The INDIA bloc, cobbled up by opposition parties to challenge the ruling BJP in the coming Lok Sabha elections, earlier suffered a setback when TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and Congress failed to decide on sharing of seats in Bengal. (With PTI inputs)