New Delhi, The much-publicized seat-sharing talks for Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh between Congress and the Samajwadi Party has hit a roadblock with Congress staking claim on more than two dozen seats, most of which are currently held by SP.

The Congress, which has been struggling to regain its lost ground in India's most populous State has reportedly prepared a list of 24 Lok Sabha constituencies that party considered its stronghold. This list would be submitted to the SP in the first round of talks beginning shortly. The party general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh Digvijay Singh has already conveyed this to the SP leaders during informal meetings.

According to sources SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav has questioned the Congress claim asking for the basis on which party has short-listed 24 seats. In the list Lok Sabha election, SP had won 16 of the 24 seats, which the Congress has identified. Congress argues that it has considerable presence and also won in the near past in Lok Sabha seats falling in Ramnpur, Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Banaras, Bundelkhand, Amethi, Raibareli and eastern UP regions of the State. It has also included in its kitty two seats won by Rajbabbar and Beni Prasad Verma, former SP MPs, who have now joined Congress.

According to a senior SP leader Congress has no right to prepare a list of seats before the beginning of seat-sharing talks. He said the identification of seats should be discussed and decided during parleys. "This is in contravention to the electoral agreement, which the two sides have agreed to," he said.

The SP has planned to lodge its protest in the next meeting of the six-member committee that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has constituted for the proper coordination between the two parties. Singh heads the committee and besides him other two members from Congress side are party President Sonia Gandhi and Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, his brother Ram Gopal Yadav and party general secretary Amar Singh represent the SP. The committee has so far held only one meeting in the aftermath of July-22 trust vote.

The SP is of the view that how many seats should be given to Congress would be decided by the committee. The seat-sharing arrangement would be arrive at on the basis of strength of the parties, said a SP office bearer. However, Congress is hopeful of resolving the issue through dialogue without harming the newly found understanding between the two. The Congress and SP had entered into an understanding in the run up to the trust vote to jointly take on BSP chief and Uttar Pradesh chief Minister Mayawati in the state.

EMAIL THIS NEWS COMMENTS No comments yet