Akhilesh Yadav disputes posters as UP seat-sharing talks begin

Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday alleged that posters invoking a Congress claim to Uttar Pradesh Assembly seats were intended to divide the opposition alliance. The Samajwadi Party president made the accusation after a poster appeared outside the state Congress headquarters in Lucknow.

The display referred to a demand for 200 seats and carried images of senior Congress leaders. Yadav called the posters fake and accused the BJP of attempting to create friction between the Congress and his party.

Those allegations were his account of the dispute. He also demanded action against municipal officials whom he accused of allowing unauthorised displays without collecting the required fees.

Congress says alliance remains united

Akhilesh Yadav argued that the absence of fee payments deprived local bodies of revenue and could conceal who was responsible for the posters. He sought an inquiry, suspension of officials and recovery of losses from those concerned.

He said his party was recording incidents by date together with details of the officials in charge. He also promised action against alleged corruption if a government led by his political grouping took office.

Congress's Uttar Pradesh in-charge, Rajendra Pal Gautam, said the INDIA bloc remained united. He maintained that efforts to spread confusion would not break the alliance.

The disagreement over posters comes as the two parties begin negotiations for next year's Assembly election. Gautam said Congress had shared a list of constituencies where it believed it could contest effectively and expected detailed discussions with SP leaders.

He described the proposal as covering between 175 and 200 seats, while indicating that negotiations remained open. Uttar Pradesh's Assembly has 403 constituencies.

Congress won two seats when it contested the 2022 Assembly election independently. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, its alliance with the SP yielded six seats for Congress and 37 for the SP in Uttar Pradesh.

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