SP leaves Congress only six seats in UP

The Samajwadi Party on Sunday declared candidates for 10 more Parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh taking the number to 74 it will contest effectively leaving only six to the Congress but at the same time wanted the alliance to remain claiming there was "no dispute" as well.

With the two parties locked in hard bargaining over seat sharing raising questions over the future of their alliance, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and party colleague Amar Singh told reporters they still expect to hammer out a tie-up with the Congress.

80 seats are at stake in the politically crucial state and it is likely that the two parties will have friendly fights in a few constituencies. A belligerent Congress however said there was "no question of going back" on its demand for 24 seats and warned SP that it will be compelled to go it alone in all constituencies in the state if the SP does not relent.

"A final decision on seat-sharing will be arrived at our party's Central Election Committee meeting which is likely to be held in Delhi on March 10. But there is no question of our going back on the 24 Lok Sabha seats for which we have declared our candidates," Uttar Pradesh Congress pesident Rita Bahuguna Joshi told PTI in Allahabad.

The announcement of another list by Yadav today is being seen as an apparent pressure tactic on the Congress which as of now will not face any SP nominee in six seats ncluding Rae Bareli and Amethi from where Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul re contesting.