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The election results of Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections had surprised all the big political giants of the country. Political pundits clearly believe that the pair of ‘two boys of UP’ i.e. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had a big role in those shocking results. On the strength of this pair, INDIA alliance had shaken the decade-old political dominance of BJP by winning 43 out of total 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

What does it mean to come together again?

Although that era was of 2024 and the results were of Lok Sabha elections, but now times have changed. Presently the year 2026 is going on and the eyes of the country and the world are fixed on the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections to be held next year i.e. 2027. Just before the upcoming big elections, Congress and Samajwadi Party are once again seen together, but the biggest question being raised is that who will show ‘big heart’ in this tussle for distribution of seats before the real electoral battle begins?

This matter of showing a ‘big heart’ can be considered to have started from a special meeting held after the elections of 2024. During that time, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had given an advice to the Congress and said that in the states where the dominance of regional parties is strong, the national parties should always show big heart and adopt a flexible attitude. In response to this, Rahul Gandhi had also made it clear that his main objective is not to fight with his allies, but to work together. However, at the grassroots level, many local leaders of UP Congress seem to be adopting a slightly different and aggressive stance.

While Congress has its own claims, SP’s stand is also very clear.

Amidst this ongoing chaos in the political circles, big claims have started coming forward from the Congress side as well. State level leaders of Congress are now loudly demanding 50-50 percent share of seats under the formula of ‘equality and respect’. He argues that the national support base of Congress and the personal image of Rahul Gandhi also had an important contribution in the huge success that Samajwadi Party got in 2024.

On the other hand, Samajwadi Party has a simple and practical belief that since they are the main opposition party in the state and are the biggest contenders to form the government in 2027, it is their right to contest elections on more seats.

When old equations got spoiled due to seat distribution

The lack of coordination between Congress and its regional allies regarding seat sharing is not a new thing. In recent times, quite negative results have been seen in many other states of the country. For example, in Haryana, talk of an alliance between Aam Aadmi Party and Congress proved to be inconclusive at the last moment, due to which the opposition votes got divided and BJP managed to come to power for the third time. A similar situation was seen in Bihar also, where the delay in reaching a mutual agreement between RJD and Congress affected the preparations of the entire grand alliance.

Apart from this, the story of Madhya Pradesh is also not hidden from anyone, where during the last assembly elections, the heated war of words between Akhilesh Yadav and local leaders had given a big blow to the prospects of the alliance.

What do the election figures of Uttar Pradesh say?

If the political mathematics of UP is understood deeply, then both the parties have their own strong arguments:

• SP’s side: Samajwadi Party had come into a very strong position in the 2022 assembly elections by jumping from 47 seats, whereas by winning 37 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it has emerged as the largest party in the state. The party argues that it is the main contender to form the government, hence it should get more seats.
• Congress’s side: Congress had won only 2 seats in the 2022 assembly elections by contesting 399 seats, but in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections it won 6 seats, which was much better than its previous performance. Congress claims that its central influence has also played a big role in the success of 2024.

Will mutual differences become the biggest challenge?

There is no doubt that from Parliament to the streets, the mutual coordination and closeness between Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav is clearly visible. Be it the issue of NEET or the strategies of the Parliament complex, both the leaders have always been seen standing with each other. But the real challenge is to unite state level workers and local leaders on one platform.

Mutual differences in Uttar Pradesh can become a big problem for both the parties, because to provide a strong and concrete alternative against BJP, they will have to reach some practical agreement. If there is a public spat over seat sharing, it will send a direct and negative message to the public as it happened in Haryana and Bihar. In such a situation, it would not be wrong to say that in 2027, only that party will win the battle of UP which will be able to show ‘big heart’ in convincing its ally before the start of the electoral battle.