Cong-SP to move ahead in UP with common minimum programme

LUCKNOW The Congress and the Samajwadi Party will continue to keep their alliance working, have a common minimum programme and keep focus on the issues concerning people in Uttar Pradesh.

“We will continue to cooperate and work according to a common minimum programme,” said All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Avinash Pandey, who along with other party leaders, met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and felicitated him following the SP-Congress alliance’s win on 43 UP seats (37 SP plus six Congress) in the Lok Sabha elections.

UP Congress Committee president Ajay Rai and Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ accompanied Pandey.

Though both parties are yet to hold any discussions about an alliance in the 2027 assembly elections, the warmth between leaders of Congress and SP gives sufficient indications that the alliance will continue.

At a meeting of the Congress’ political affairs committee, senior leaders noted people’s support to the Congress in 2024 polls and how Rahul Gandhi and KL Sharma won by a large margin in Rae Bareli and Amethi, respectively. The leaders also noted the support to UPCC president and Congress candidate in Varanasi Ajay Rai that reduced Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s margin of victory there.

Asked about the road ahead for the Congress, Pandey said: “We have launched our preparations for the 2027 election. Besides, there is going to be an election to urban local bodies in 2026. We are going to have a plan for this.”

The political affairs committee meeting was attended by several candidates for 2024 LS elections as well and the party’s performance in the polls on different seats came up for scrutiny.

After the meeting, Pandey said the Congress would take out five-day thanksgiving yatras from June 11 to 15 in all 403 assemblies and convey the message of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi to the people, thanking them for their support in the 2024 polls. “We will tell people that the party will continue to make efforts on Rahul Gandhi’s five points of justice and 25 guarantees,” said Pandey.

Pandey said: “We will hold a general body meeting to launch a programme for the next 100 days...we will work out a panel of candidates for all the 400 Lok Sabha constituencies.”

Meanwhile, there are allegations that the district administration worked in the interest of BJP candidates in four LS constituencies, including Bansgaon, Deoria and Kanpur. The Congress may take legal recourse there and former UPCC president Salman Khurshid will work on this.

“We focused that the elections should be held on issues. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made efforts that the focus remained on ‘mangal sutras’ and buffaloes, and not on main issues. Everybody realised that there was an undeclared emergency and the people felt they were under watch,” he said.

The political affairs committee adopted nine resolutions, according to which, the Congress would continue to make efforts to protect the Constitution, seek caste census, ensure participation of OBCs in government schemes in proportion to their population, social justice, pursue demand for an inquiry into the exit polls, commitment to ‘five points of justice’, demand for chief minister’s resignation, scrapping of agniveer scheme, restoration of subsidy for farmers.

“The Congress is taking ahead the issues of caste census, social justice and participation of OBC in accordance with their population,” said UPCC general secretary Anil Yadav.