‘Congress Deserves Only 10-20 Seats’: SP Leader Shiv Pal Patel Rejects Party’s 150-Seat Demand for UP Assembly Polls

The proposed seat-sharing arrangement between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections has come under fresh strain, with SP MP Shiv Pal Singh Patel questioning the Congress' reported demand for 150 seats. Patel said Congress should seek seats in line with its electoral strength and organisational presence in the state.

Patel's remarks come days after Uttar Pradesh Congress in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam said the party would not contest fewer than 150 of the state's 403 Assembly seats under an alliance arrangement. Gautam had also said Congress considered itself entitled to 50 per cent of the seats and that the seat-sharing exercise was expected to be finalised in October. Congress Reshuffles Punjab and UP Leadership Ahead of Polls: Aradhana Misra Appointed UPCC Chief, Pargat Singh Named Punjab Unit President.

SP MP Questions Congress' 150-Seat Demand

Speaking to IANS, Patel argued that Congress should assess its electoral position before seeking more than 50 seats. He referred to the party's past performance in Uttar Pradesh and said that fielding candidates from both parties in the same constituencies could result in losses for the alliance.

The comments indicate a significant gap between the two parties' positions ahead of formal seat-sharing discussions. Congress has maintained that it has candidates available for all 403 constituencies and has been preparing for the negotiations for the past two months. Gautam has said senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi and KC Venugopal, are involved in the exercise.

SP-Congress Alliance to Continue in 2027

Despite the differences over seat allocation, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has said the existing alliance with Congress will continue for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. He has also indicated that the alliance would remain based on the existing INDIA bloc arrangement. The two parties had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections together in Uttar Pradesh. The SP won 37 of the state's 80 Lok Sabha seats, while Congress won six, giving the alliance a combined tally of 43 seats. BJP Gears Up for 2027 UP Assembly Polls with Marathon Strategy Meetings in October.

Congress, SP Differ Over Seat-Sharing Formula

The disagreement comes as both parties prepare to negotiate the distribution of 403 Assembly constituencies. Recent reports have indicated differing expectations, with Congress seeking a substantially larger share while the SP has been emphasising candidate strength and winnability in individual constituencies.

Congress' demand for at least 150 seats would give it a much larger share than the party contested in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when it fielded candidates in 17 constituencies and won six. In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, Congress contested 399 seats and won two.

The SP, meanwhile, won 111 seats in the 2022 Assembly election, while the BJP won 255. The 2027 election is expected to see a contest involving the BJP-led NDA and the opposition alliance led by the SP, with Congress seeking to finalise its arrangement with Akhilesh Yadav's party.

Seat-Sharing Talks Expected to Gain Pace

With October identified as the likely month for finalising the alliance arrangement, the seat-sharing negotiations are expected to become a key issue for both parties. The latest remarks from the SP camp suggest that the number of constituencies allocated to Congress will remain a major point of discussion before any final formula is announced.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 03, 2026 04:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).