After an SP leader says “they didn’t seem interested in having an alliance”, Congress’s retort: “They don’t have a footing in MP. How are they expecting so many seats?”
Hopes for an alliance between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Madhya Pradesh have seemingly disappeared after the former on Sunday announced candidates for four of the seven seats where the Akhilesh Yadav-led party has already declared candidates. In a strong signal to its INDIA alliance partner, the SP then declared a list of nine more candidates.
The four seats in question are Chitrangi, Mehgaon, Bhander, and Rajnagar. Last time, the Congress won Mehgaon, Bhander, and Rajnagar. The SP leadership in Bhopal and Lucknow is most unhappy with the Congress for fielding a candidate from Bijawar in Chhatarpur district that the party won in 2018. The SP has yet to name a candidate there.
SP state president for Madhya Pradesh Ramayan Singh Patel told The Indian Express that “all possibilities of an alliance with the Congress are over”. “We had some talk with the Congress leadership, but it all fell through on Sunday. We will contest seats on our own and will do well in the elections next year,” he added.