Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh bypolls, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav announced that all candidates from the INDIA bloc would contest the upcoming elections on the SP’s cycle symbol. This decision came after discussions with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who informed Akhilesh Yadav that the Congress would not contest any of the nine bypoll seats in the state. The bypolls are set for November 13, with nominations closing on October 25 and vote counting scheduled for November 23.
According to sources, Rahul Gandhi conveyed to Akhilesh Yadav in a late-night conversation that the Congress had little interest in contesting certain seats, particularly Ghaziabad Sadar and Khair, both historically BJP strongholds. Political analysts had previously predicted that Congress had slim chances of success in these constituencies, further diminishing the party’s enthusiasm for participation.
The Congress had initially demanded five of the 10 Assembly seats up for bypolls, including Milkipur, but later indicated a willingness to contest only two seats: Ghaziabad and Khair. The Samajwadi Party, however, had already fielded its candidates, specifically Muslim candidates, on key seats like Meerapur and Phulpur, which the Congress had desired. Faced with this situation, the Congress leadership opted to step aside, preferring to leave the bypolls in Samajwadi Party hands.
Rahul Gandhi, after returning from Wayanad where his sister Priyanka Gandhi is contesting the Lok Sabha bypolls, spoke with Akhilesh Yadav to address the seat-sharing differences. Following this conversation, Akhilesh Yadav took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to announce that INDIA bloc candidates would compete under the SP’s cycle symbol across all nine seats. He emphasized the unity of the Congress and SP in pursuing a common goal of electoral victory.
In his tweet, Akhilesh Yadav highlighted the significance of the alliance beyond simple seat-sharing mathematics, stating that the collaboration aimed at ensuring a resounding victory in the bypolls. He added that the alliance’s strength had been significantly bolstered by Congress’s support, with workers from both parties uniting for the campaign.
The nine seats up for bypolls include Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sishamau (Kanpur city), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj), and Kundarki (Moradabad). While eight seats were vacated as their MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha, the Sishamau bypoll was necessitated by the disqualification of SP MLA Irfan Solanki following his criminal conviction.
