With the by-poll due in nine of the 10 vacant assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, the issue of seat-sharing between INDIA bloc partners– Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP)– seems to have again become a bone of contention between the two parties. The by-elections on nine assembly seats–including Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sisamau (Kanpur city), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj) and Kundarki (Moradabad)– are scheduled to be held on November 13 and the results will be announced with the state assembly election results of Maharashtra and Jharkhand on November 23. The remaining one seat, Milkipur, which is caught in litigation. 

Now, while the Samajwadi Party said that INDIA bloc ally Congress has agreed to contest just two of the 10 seats where by-polls are due, giving the rest to the SP, the UP Congress claimed it has demanded five seats and was “not aware” of the seat sharing agreement. 

“Our agreement is final with the Congress. Of the 10 seats, the Congress will contest on two Khair (Aligarh) and Ghaziabad, while on the rest eight, the SP will contest,” SP Spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhury told news agency PTI. 

The Congress, however, disagreed. State Congress chief Ajay Rai said, “We are not aware of this. As of now, we stand by our demand of five seats”. 

 The SP has already declared candidates for seven seats including Meerapur from where it has fielded Sumbhul Rana, daughter-in-law of former BSP MP Qadir Rana, who has now joined the Samajwadi Party. The Congress wanted this seat, but as per media reports, after the grand old party’s poor performance in the Haryana election, the SP had snubbed its request and is ready to give it only two seats — Khair and Ghaziabad. 

Nine of these seats fell vacant after its MLAs were elected as MPs in the Lok Sabha polls, while by-polls are being held in the Sisamau seat due to the disqualification of SP MLA Irfan Solanki, who was convicted in a criminal case. Except for Milkipur, the Election Commission has announced polls on the rest nine seats.