With the Congress deciding to go it alone in the upcoming Assembly elections in five States, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav appeared miffed, not only at the Congress’ unwillingness to share seats in Madhya Pradesh, but also at the lack of clarity on whether the four-month old Opposition coalition INDIA was meant as a partnership only for the 2024 Lok Sabha election and not for the Assembly polls.
Mr. Yadav’s outburst on Thursday came with a warning that the Congress would meet with similar treatment in Uttar Pradesh as was meted to the SP in Madhya Pradesh. It lays out the primary challenge for the INDIA of reconciling its joint 2024 ambition to defeat the BJP at the Centre with the clash of separate aspirations between the partners at the State level.
On October 15, the Congress released its first list of 144 candidates; hours later, the SP also released its first list of nine candidates, followed by a second list of another 22 candidates on October 18. In all, the SP and Congress will be face to face in 18 seats.
