Akhilesh, Mayawati meet, lock seat-sharing formula

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have agreed to an alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, an SP leader said on Saturday. A formal announcement on the “gathbandhan” between the two Uttar Pradesh-based parties may take place later this month, SP's national spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said. He said Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati had given their “in-principle approval” to the alliance after a series of meetings between them. 

The two leaders also met in Delhi on Friday, he said. Talks are on with other parties as well, the spokesperson said.  “There has been an in-principle approval for the gathbandhan. And there is a possibility that an announcement in this regard will be made this month," Chaudhary said. “Talks are going on to accommodate some smaller parties in the alliance," he said. He admitted that the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which has a presence in western UP, is among these parties. 

When asked about the possible inclusion of the Congress in the UP alliance, Chaudhary said, "This will be decided by Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati.” But he added that the alliance will not field candidates in Amethi and Raebareli, leaving the two Lok Sabha constituencies for Congress president Rahul Gandhi and United Progressive Alliance chief Sonia Gandhi.  Politically crucial Uttar Pradesh sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha. In the last parliamentary elections in 2014, the BJP won 71 seats, securing 42.63 per cent of the votes. BJP ally Apna Dal bagged two seats.