{"id":27732,"date":"2026-09-23T11:19:03","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T11:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=27732"},"modified":"2026-09-23T11:19:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T11:19:03","slug":"up-ke-ladke-in-for-political-brawl-sp-congress-spar-over-who-can-beat-bjp-in-2027-india-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=27732","title":{"rendered":"‘UP ke ladke’ in for political ‘brawl’? SP, Congress spar over who can beat BJP in 2027 | India News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"'UP<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
‘UP ke ladke’ vs each other? SP-Congress spar over who can beat BJP in 2027<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

NEW DELHI: The “UP ke ladke” bonhomie is beginning to look less like a united front and more like a contest for the upper hand, with Congress and Samajwadi Party<\/a> leaders trading jabs over who can take on the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. With the 2027 assembly election approaching, are cracks emerging in the INDIA bloc’s battle plan against Yogi Adityanath’s BJP?<\/p>\n

Iqra Hasan<\/keyword>\u2019s remarks trigger Congress pushback<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

SP MP Iqra Hasan set off the latest bout of sparring bysaying Congress “can’t achieve much on its own” and projecting party boss and frmer CM Akhilesh Yadav<\/a> as the only leader capable of defeating the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.Her remarks drew a quick response from the Congress, with party leaders pushing back against the suggestion that the SP could take on the BJP by itself.Congress MP Imran Masood said, “She (Iqra Hasan) also cannot do it alone. What is the problem with that? Iqra is our child. She is like our niece.”“People from the Trinamool Congress were also saying a lot. Look at what happened in Bengal. Let us move together, and we will remain in peace,” he added with a reference to Mamata-led TMC’s big defeat in Bengal after contesting solo.Congress leader Udit Raj pointed to the SP’s performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha election while questioning Iqra’s claim.“That may be her (Iqra Hasan’s) own statement, but we can understand this through an example: when the alliance was formed in 2024, the Samajwadi Party won 36 seats. What was its performance before that? The Samajwadi Party had only six MPs in 2019. So, in politics, one plus one does not always make two; one plus one can make eleven. Therefore, I think she should correct her understanding,” Udit Raj told IANS.<\/p>\n

BJP joins SP-Congress war of words<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

The saffron party, meanwhile, was quick to weigh in on the disagreement. Uttar Pradesh BJP vice-president Neeraj Singh said, “Congress will not be able to achieve anything on its own across the country. And even if it forms an alliance with the Samajwadi Party or any other party in Uttar Pradesh, the people of Uttar Pradesh have already formed an alliance in their hearts with the BJP government…”Iqra, who made the remarks on Monday, had said, “It is an absolutely foolish statement. I think that if there is anyone in Uttar Pradesh who can defeat the BJP, it is only Akhilesh Yadav. Congress will not be able to do anything on its own. If the alliance remains, it will be very good; if it does not, it is a loss for them (Congress), not for us.”<\/p>\n

SP-Cong face a new test: Who gets how many seats?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

The “UP ke ladke” chemistry that helped Rahul Gandhi<\/a> and Akhilesh Yadav pull off a striking upset in the 2024 Lok Sabha election has yet to turn into a clear seat-sharing formula for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.The two leaders have continued to share the stage on occasions, including protest for students, maintaining a public show of camaraderie. But behind that familiar chemistry, the alliance arithmetic is still taking shape.There has been no concrete discussion on how the 403 assembly seats could be divided between Congress and the Samajwadi Party.<\/p>\n

How 2024 \u2018UP ke ladke\u2019 formula worked<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Their partnership took shape months before the 2024 Lok Sabha election, and the results that followed gave the alliance a strong political imprint.The SP contested 62 of the state’s 80 Lok Sabha seats and won 37, including Faizabad, the constituency covering Ayodhya. Congress fought 17 seats and won six. Together, the two parties crossed the halfway mark of UP’s Lok Sabha tally, handing the BJP a major setback in a state that sends the most MPs to Parliament.For the SP, it was very much the bigger share of the alliance pie. Akhilesh’s party emerged as the largest opposition force in the state, and second largest in country, while Congress revived its presence with six seats.<\/p>\n

Ayodhya loss added to BJP\u2019s UP setback<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

The result also had a powerful political backdrop. Uttar Pradesh is the home turf of chief minister Yogi Adityanath and the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP had also invested enormous political capital in Ayodhya, where the Ram temple consecration took place in January 2024 in the presence of PM Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.Yet, months later, the BJP lost the Faizabad seat to the SP.The result turned Rahul and Akhilesh into the “UP ke ladke” of the 2024 campaign, a political pairing that seemed to have found the right formula for the state’s electorate. But as the next election approaches, the partnership is facing a different kind of test: Seat-sharing.Akhilesh has repeatedly said that the SP will contest the 2027 election with the INDIA bloc partners with whom it fought the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, effectively keeping the door open for Congress. But Congress has not made a similar formal commitment. Neither Rahul Gandhi nor party president Mallikarjun Kharge has publicly announced a seat-sharing arrangement with the SP.<\/p>\n

SP gets its 403-seat election machinery moving<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the SP is already getting its electoral machinery moving.Sources told TOI that the party’s top leadership has finalised candidates for more than 100 of the 403 assembly seats, while the process is under way for the remaining constituencies. The party has not yet released a formal candidate list.SP strategists say the early exercise is deliberate, giving prospective candidates time to prepare their constituencies, build networks and hit the ground running once the campaign begins.The strategy is not entirely new. Political observers point out that the SP followed a similar approach before the 2022 assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, beginning the candidate-selection process well ahead of polling but releasing the actual lists only a few months before the election.<\/p>\n

Congress prepares for all 403 seats too<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Congress, meanwhile, has indicated that it is preparing to contest all 403 seats. That ambition could make the eventual negotiatins with the SP considerably more interesting.<\/p>\n

Owaisi offer adds another variable<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

And there is another piece on the chessboard. AIMIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi has made an open offer to Akhilesh, potentially bringing another party into the opposition’s seat-sharing calculations. If the SP chooses to engage with Owaisi, the equation could become even more complicated for an alliance that has so far largely revolved around SP and Congress.<\/p>\n

What happened in 2022 assembly polls<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

The Lok Sabha 2024 friendship was a renewed one. Just two years earlier, the grand old party and Akhilesh Yadav\u2019s Samajwadi Party had contested the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections separately, as they sought to take on Yogi Adityanath, who was then seeking a second term as chief minister.Yogi comfortably retained his Lucknow throne, while the Samajwadi Party increased its numbers. The Congress, however, suffered a major setback, winning just 2 of the 403 assembly seats.<\/p>\n

Big heart or bigger share?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Rahul, personally, also appeared hesitant when it came to announcing the Mahagathbandhan\u2019s chief ministerial face in Bihar last year.He also appeared to have reservations about Tejashwi Yadav\u2019s eagerness to project himself as the alliance\u2019s face, as well as over seat-sharing, with a large chunk of seats going to Lalu Yadav\u2019s Rashtriya Janata Dal.A similar story could now unfold in Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress may look to expand its footprint with an eye on the next Lok Sabha elections. Uttar Pradesh remains at the heart of national politics, making a strong presence in the state crucial for any party with larger ambitions.Akhilesh Yadav, meanwhile, would be looking to return to power in Lucknow and reclaim the chief minister\u2019s chair.Congress\u2019 delayed decisions and its cautious approach towards trusting allies have also been visible more recently in Tamil Nadu. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav have previously urged the Congress to show a \u201cbig heart\u201d and back \u201cregional players\u201d in their home turfs.<\/p>\n

What next for UP ke ladke?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

So, while the Rahul-Akhilesh bond now may still look intact in public, the real test could come away from the cameras: How many seats each party wants, how many it is willing to give up, and whether the “UP ke ladke” formula can survive the hard arithmetic of 2027.<\/p>\n

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