Samajwadi Party's poll alliance with Congress picks up pace in UP

The efforts for a poll alliance by Samajwadi Party has picked up pace with Congress and RLD and the tie-up may be announced in next two days. Sources said, Samajwadi Party has agreed to leave 90 seats for Congress but last-minute haggling is reported to be still on. 

They said, Ajit Singh's RLD has laid claim to 30 seats but could settle for 18-20. AICC General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad yesterday formally announced that Congress and Samajwadi Party will fight together the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had also



made a similar remark in Lucknow. 

There is a sense of urgency surrounding the tie-up given that the election process for the first phase has already got underway. With the announcement of formal alliance and seat sharing details are likely to be made public in Lucknow by tomorrow, the long election is expected to feature a joint campaign by Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi. 

Racing against time, sources said both the Samajwadi Party and Congress could announce the candidates in batches instead of rushing through all in one go.