New Delhi:
The Congress on Sunday said that it will not field any candidate on seven seats in Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, leaving them for the SP-BSP-RLD alliance.
"We are leaving seven seats vacant for SP, BSP and RLD. These include Mainpuri, Kannauj, Firozabad and whatever seats Mayawati ji and RLD's Jayant ji and Ajit Singh contest from. We will also give two seats to Apna Dal - Gonda & Pilibhit," said UP Congress chief Raj Babbar.
Babbar added that the Congress will also not field any candidate on the Azamgarh seat if Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav contests from there.
He further announced that the Mahan Dal, with which the Congress joined hands earlier this year, is ready to fight on the former's symbol.
"We had talked to Mahan Dal earlier. They had said they were fine with whatever seats we give them, all they wanted was to contest Vidhan Sabha election. For Lok Sabha elections they had said they'll contest on our symbol. We'll find out a way to work with them," Babbar said.
Also, the Congress reached an agreement on seven seats with Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) in Uttar Pradesh. While the former will fight on two seats, the latter will field candidates on remaining five seats.
In January this year, the BSP and SP had announced their alliance in the state, while elbowing out the Congress. However, both Akhilesh and Mayawati said that they will not field any candidates from Amethi and Rae Bareli -- the two strongholds of the Congress in the state.
Later, the Congress announced to go it alone and contest on all 80 seats in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. It later joined hands with the Apna Dal, Mahan Dal and Jan Adhikar Party.
In Uttar Pradesh, the polls will be held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19. The counting of votes will be held on May 23.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had won 73 seats while the Congress had managed to win only two. The Samajwadi Party had won five seats and the BSP had drawn a blank in the state.
