Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav today said there was no conflict with the Congress and that the seat-sharing talks were nearly completed after weeks of blowing hot and cold. The breakthrough, sources say, could be achieved after an intervention by senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and her daughter and party general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

According to sources, Ms Vadra initiated the talks and got both parties to the negotiation table. She first spoke with her brother Rahul Gandhi – whose Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is in Uttar Pradesh – and then with Mr Yadav to break the deadlock on Lok Sabha elections seat-sharing in the state and give a final shape to the alliance at the earliest, they said.

Mr Yadav’s party will contest 62 seats, with 17 reserved for the Congress and one left to Chandrashekhar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party.

The Congress had earlier sought 19 seats for itself.

The Congress has agreed to give up Moradabad seat after the talks, sources said. In return, the Samajwadi Party may withdraw its candidate from Varanasi. The Congress high command has asked two more changes – swap Sitapur and Hathras – Samajwadi Party is understood to have agreed to this. Secondly, give Shravasti to the Congress in exchange for either Bulandshahr or Mathura – Akhilesh Yadav’s party has sought time to think about this.

Sonia Gandhi – who recently vacated her Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat to move to Rajya Sabha – also helped the Congress leaders to come around to the Samajwadi Party’s ambition in Uttar Pradesh. She told party leaders that their demands were “unreasonable and unrealistic”, the sources said.

The Samajwadi Party and Congress are partners in the INDIA bloc. The success of the seat-sharing talks between the two are crucial, especially after the failure of such talks with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has decided to contest in her state alone. Its another ally AAP has also decided to go solo in Punjab. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said the Congress and his party had “mutually agreed” to contest Lok Sabha seats in Punjab separately.

“All is well that ends well. Yes, there will be an alliance. There is no conflict. Everything will be out and clear soon,” a smiling Akhilesh Yadav told reporters.

Akhilesh Yadav who earlier had accepted the invitation from Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to join the Yatra saying that he would participate in the Yatra in Amethi or Rae Bareli, later said his participation was conditional to a decision on seat sharing.

The Samajwadi Party Chief could now join the yatra on February 24-25 when it hits Moradabad in Western UP.

The Congress will contest 17 of Uttar Pradesh’s 80 Lok Sabha seats in the forthcoming general election, while the Samajwadi Party will be allotted the remaining 63, the INDIA bloc members said this evening.

This is the first major seat-share deal announced by the opposition alliance, which was formed in June to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Apart from its strongholds of Raebareli and Amethi (lost to the BJP’s Smriti Irani in 2019), the Congress will field candidates from Kanpur Nagar, Fatehpur Sikri, Basgaon, Saharanpur, Prayagraj, Maharajganj, Amroha, Jhansi, Bulandshahar, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Sitapur, Barabanki, and Deoria.

In addition, it has also been given Varanasi, which is Mr Modi’s constituency.

The Samajwadi Party, meanwhile, will assign seats to regional parties from its share; at least one of these regional parties, though, is not expected to be in play with Jayant Chaudhary’s Rashtriya Lok Dal believed to have re-aligned itself with the BJP despite agreeing a seven-seat deal with the SP last month.

READ | “Had Limited Time To Make Decision…”: RLD Leader On BJP Alliance Buzz

Samajwadi Party General Secretary Rajendra Chaudhary and his Congress counterpart, Avinash Pandey, addressed a press conference in Lucknow, at which the former threw down a warning for the BJP, which has dominated UP’s electoral landscape over the last 10 years, winning 71 seats in 2014 and 62 in 2019.

“The alliance is a message for the country. There are 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP… Akhileshji has repeatedly said BJP came to the centre from UP (and) because of UP it will lose power in 2024.”

“The situation in the country is very bad… farmers and youth are on the streets. INDIA alliance’s dream is to save the country from BJP,” Mr Chaudhary declared.

Mr Pandey told reporters the Congress had not yet decided on candidates for its seats, including the high-profile Amethi and Raebareli. “Gandhi family considers both as ‘home’ and will take a decision soon,” he said, amid speculation Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will make her electoral debut from the latter constituency.

READ | After Sonia Gandhi’s Rajya Sabha Shift, Buzz Around Her Raebareli Seat

The Congress-Samajwadi deal comes a day after Akhilesh Yadav gave the national party sort of an ultimatum – ‘complete talks or I won’t participate in Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra”.

READ | Akhilesh Yadav’s 15 UP Seats Offer To Congress, And A Yatra Condition

Talks between the two – seen as a barometer of INDIA’s ability to mount a sustained challenge to the BJP’s formidable poll-winning machinery – have been under scrutiny over the past few days, particularly after the Congress-AAP won the Chandigarh mayoral election to mark the bloc’s first electoral win.

However, till as recently as yesterday it looked like there could be no deal.

That was when Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Sonia Gandhi stepped in.

Sources have told NDTV the two reached out directly to Akhilesh Yadav to broker a deal, and then spoken to Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders from both sides to finalise arrangements.

READ | To Solve UP Seat-Sharing Deadlock, Sonia, Priyanka Gandhi Stepped In

Congress sources said Ms Gandhi was key, as she helped state leaders understand some of their demands were “unrealistic” given the party’s dismal overall performances in the 2014 and 2019 polls.

The news comes as a big boost for the grouping that has struggled for cohesion since it was formed in June last year, with disagreements over seat-sharing high on the list of problems to be overcome.

The bloc has already seen the exit of Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) boss Nitish Kumar.

And over in Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress said it plans to contest the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats on its own, after persistent criticism of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by the Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

READ | “No Tie-Up With Congress”: Mamata’s Bengal Twist Stuns INDIA Bloc

In Punjab, where the Congress was beaten by the AAP in the last election, the two have been unable to agree a seat-share deal. The hope, though, is that the mayoral election win will have a positive impact.

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The Congress on Wednesday claimed the Income Tax Department had withdrawn Rs 65 crore from three of its accounts – towards a “unprecedented” tax demand of Rs 210 crore – despite the claim currently being heard by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. 

In a post on X, Congress leader Ajay Maken pointed out national political parties were exempt from paying income tax (though they do have to file tax returns) and asked if the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party would also receive similar demands.

“Yesterday, the Income Tax Department mandated banks to transfer over Rs 65 crores from Indian National Congress, Indian Youth Congress, and National Students’ Union of India accounts to the government – Rs 5 crore from IYC and NSUI, and Rs 60.25 crores from INC, marking a concerning move by the BJP government,” he wrote.

“Is it common for national political parties to pay Income Tax? No. Does BJP pay Income Tax? No. Why then is the Congress Party facing an unprecedented demand of Rs 210 crore?” Mr Maken asked on X.

Yesterday, the Income Tax Department mandated banks to transfer over ₹65 crores from @INCIndia, IYC, and NSUI accounts to the government—₹5 crores from IYC and NSUI, and ₹60.25 crores from INC, marking a concerning move by the BJP Government.

Is it common for National… pic.twitter.com/eiObPTtO1D

— Ajay Maken (@ajaymaken) February 21, 2024

“During today’s ITAT proceedings, we presented our case. The hearing is set to continue tomorrow.”

“Funds in question were raised through grassroots efforts, including crowdfunding and membership drives by IYC and NSUI. This raises a crucial question about democracy. Is it under threat?” he continued.

“Our hope now lies with the judiciary… democracy will be over if probe agencies’ action is unchecked.”

Last week the Congress found its main bank accounts frozen by tax officials. These were, however, quickly unfrozen by the tribunal pending the outcome of the hearing that began this afternoon.

READ | “115 Crores Frozen, Don’t Have That Much”: Congress On Bank Accounts Row

The Congress hit out at the BJP and called the tax notices “politically motivated” and “strategically timed to disrupt election preparations”. Mr Maken called them a “disturbing blow to the democratic process”.

“Democracy doesn’t exist; this is like a one-rule party, and the principal opposition party has been subjugated. We seek justice from the judiciary, media, and the people,” the senior leader said.

He said the party submitted its 2018/19 financial details (an election year) 45 days late, but called the freezing of the accounts an extreme measure, arguing there was no precedence for such action.

Mr Maken further said the timing of the freeze raised suspicions about the motives behind the action.

“Right now, we have no money to spend. Electricity bills, staff salaries… everything is impacted. Look at the timing; this is clear,” he said, “We have only one PAN, and the four accounts are all linked.”

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