Swami Prasad Maurya with Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi
Apna Dal Kamerawadi leader Pankaj Niranjan with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and All India Congress Committee in charge for UP Rajendra Pal Gautam Apna Dal Kamerawadi leader Pankaj Niranjan with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and All India Congress Committee in charge for UP Rajendra Pal Gautam
Congress party’s UP in charge Rajendra Pal Gautam has pitched for ‘equal partner’ status and reiterated on Sunday that the party was preparing for 200 seats. Political analysts said the outreach could serve a dual purpose for Congress — expanding its social and organisational footprint ahead of the 2027 assembly elections while also giving it additional leverage when it sits across the table with SP.
If it can bring smaller parties with a specific social base into its fold, it can enter negotiations with the SP with a wider alliance proposition,” a political analyst said. Another analyst said the move should not be seen as Congress preparing to move away from SP. Lucknow: Congress is in talks with at least four smaller regional outfits from Uttar Pradesh even before it goes for seat-sharing negotiations with Samajwadi Party , its INDIA bloc partner in UP.
“Congress is trying to strengthen its position before the seat-sharing exercise begins. Among smaller outfits in touch with Congress are Apni Janta Party chief Swami Prasad Maurya, who met Rahul on Saturday, followed by Sanjay Chauhan of Janwadi Party (Socialist) and Pankaj Niranjan of Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), on Sunday.