Lucknow: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is reasserting herself in Uttar Pradesh Congress politics, with an eye on a bigger prize in the party’s proposed alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP)—more seats. She has asked state leaders to map 120-130 constituencies where Congress believes it has a strong claim, seeking to avoid a repeat of 2017, when the party felt the SP had the upper hand in seat-sharing.
There had been speculation that Rahul Gandhi’s core team would take the lead in decisions concerning the state. Rajendra Pal Gautam, considered close to Rahul Gandhi’s team, was appointed the state in-charge amid these discussions. However, following Ajay Rai’s removal as state Congress president, Priyanka has once again become active in UP affairs.
Priyanka Gandhi is currently a general secretary of the Congress without a specific portfolio. She was in charge of Uttar Pradesh between 2019 and 2023. However, under her leadership, the party won only two seats in the 2022 Assembly elections.
As per sources in Congress, Priyanka has asked senior UP leaders to prepare a list of 120-130 Assembly constituencies where the party believes it has a strong claim. The assessment is expected to take into account Congress’s performance in the 2012, 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections, as well as constituencies where it performed relatively well in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
With Priyanka’s renewed involvement, members of her core team have also become active in the state. Although her private secretary Sandeep Singh is no longer active in UP affairs, Anil Yadav and Shahnawaz Khan continue to be involved. Newly-appointed state Congress president Aradhana Mishra and working president Imran Masood are also considered close to Priyanka.
Congress leaders believe her involvement will be important in negotiations with the SP, with one party leader describing her as a tougher negotiator than Rahul Gandhi.
”There are more than 100 seats in UP where the Samajwadi Party has not won since 2012. The SP may offer us 50-60 seats from among these constituencies, but we want around 100 seats where the electoral equations are more favourable to us and where we can realistically aim to win at least 45-50,” a UP Congress leader told ThePrint.
The party leader added that Congress did not want a repeat of the 2017 Assembly election arrangement, where the SP was seen as having the upper hand in deciding the seats allocated to its ally.
“People are now willing to vote for Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. The political narrative of the 2024 alliance in Uttar Pradesh was also shaped by Congress. In 2019, when the SP contested in alliance with the BSP, widely described as the Mahagathbandhan, it won only five Lok Sabha seats. In 2024, the SP’s tally rose to 37 under the INDIA bloc alliance. The alliance also helped Congress consolidate support among Dalit voters,” the UP Congress leader said.
SP denies receiving official list
Meanwhile, UP Congress in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam has claimed that the party has shared a list covering a substantial number of constituencies with the SP.
Sources close to Gautam said he had sent the SP a list of 175 Assembly seats, divided into four categories. In the first category, the party is unwilling to compromise on its claim. The second category allows room for negotiations, while decisions on seats in the third category would be left to senior leaders of the two parties. The criteria for the fourth category was not specified by the sources.
However, Udayveer Singh, a senior SP leader who handled alliance coordination for the party during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, said the SP had not received any official list from the Congress.
”There is a process for alliance negotiations. First, both parties constitute coordination committees. Congress has not taken any such initiative so far,” Singh told ThePrint.
”If they are claiming that a list of 200 seats has been submitted to the SP leadership, they should clarify when it was submitted and whether any official meeting took place. If a list was shared through informal channels, it will not be taken seriously,” he added.
Singh said the SP understood the responsibilities of an alliance but expected Congress to approach the negotiations seriously.
”Whenever Rahul Gandhi goes abroad, incorrect reports about the alliance begin circulating from the Congress camp. No deal has been finalised yet,” he said.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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