Offering 11 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh to the Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP) president and former U.P. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, on Saturday said that their “alliance” is off to a good start in the State.
The Congress was quick to endorse the positive development but insisted that the seat-sharing had not reached its conclusions yet and asserted that senior leader Ashok Gehlot will soon meet Mr. Yadav.
Both the Congress and the SP are members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). The development came amid strong indications that Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) president Nitish Kumar is likely to leave the Opposition bloc and rejoin the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).