Congress Should Settle for 50–65 Seats, Says SP MP as 181-Seat Demand Sparks UP Alliance Debate

November 15, 2026

Lucknow: A disagreement over seat-sharing has emerged between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with SP MP Shivpal Singh Patel questioning the Congress’s demand for 181 of the state’s 403 Assembly seats.

Patel termed the demand unreasonable and said the Congress should agree to contest between 50 and 65 seats. He also indicated that the party would get fewer than 100 seats under the proposed alliance arrangement.

SP Leader Questions Congress’s Demand for 181 Seats

Patel said the Congress had submitted a list of 181 constituencies it wanted to contest, but the seat-sharing arrangement had not yet been finalised. He clarified that the Congress had only put forward its demand and that the final decision would rest with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.

“I hope they (Congress) would agree on 50-60 seats or a maximum of 65 seats,” Patel said.

Questioning the Congress’s demand, the SP MP pointed out that the party currently has only two MLAs in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, while the Samajwadi Party has a considerably stronger presence in the state.

He argued that, given its current strength, the Congress did not even merit 50 seats and that its demand for 181 constituencies was unjustified. He also cautioned that allocating an excessive number of seats to the Congress could lead to a waste of resources.

Patel Warns Excessive Seat Allocation Could Demoralise SP Workers

Patel said the contribution of grassroots workers must also be considered while deciding the seat-sharing formula. He cautioned that giving too many seats to the Congress could demoralise SP workers who had worked to build public support across the state through ‘PDA’ (Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhayak) Panchayats and extensive fieldwork.

He also asserted that public support in Uttar Pradesh was aligned with Akhilesh Yadav’s governance and welfare initiatives. While acknowledging the need for mutual cooperation between alliance partners, Patel said that going beyond reasonable limits could affect the electoral outcome.

Congress-SP Seat-Sharing Talks Scheduled for November 17

Senior leaders of the Congress and the Samajwadi Party are scheduled to meet on November 17 to discuss seat-sharing for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The meeting is expected to mark the beginning of formal discussions on the number of constituencies each party will contest and the final alliance formula.

Uttar Pradesh Congress in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam said the party had already submitted a list of approximately 180 seats and that several rounds of discussions were expected on November 17.

“We have already provided them with a list comprising approximately 180 seats, and the talks are set to begin soon. Tentatively, several rounds of meetings will take place on the 17th, during which everything will be finalised,” Gautam said.

Patel maintained that even if the Congress refused to settle for fewer than 181 seats, the final decision would rest with Akhilesh Yadav. He reiterated that the SP chief would have the final say on the party’s seat-sharing position.

The Congress has been seeking a larger share of seats following its performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when it won six seats in Uttar Pradesh. The Samajwadi Party, however, has been considering a substantially smaller allocation for its alliance partner, with discussions earlier revolving around 60 to 70 seats.

Akhilesh Yadav Says SP and Congress Will Contest Together

Earlier, Akhilesh Yadav confirmed that the Congress had sought 181 seats as part of the seat-sharing arrangement for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. However, he maintained that the INDIA bloc remained united and that defeating the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was the alliance’s principal objective.

“We have already decided on the number of seats we would contest. The INDIA bloc will defeat the BJP. The relationship between the Samajwadi Party and Congress is extremely good. They have sought one more than 180 seats,” Yadav said.

During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-SP alliance won 43 of Uttar Pradesh’s 80 parliamentary seats. The Samajwadi Party won 37 seats, while the Congress secured six.

However, the parties had contrasting performances in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The Congress contested 399 seats independently but managed to win only two, down from seven in 2017.

The Samajwadi Party, meanwhile, won 111 of the 347 seats it contested in 2022, improving on its tally of 47 seats in the 2017 Assembly elections.