{
  "id": 16188476,
  "title": "Why Samajwadi Party is wary of giving Congress a big share of UP seats",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/why-samajwadi-party-is-wary-of-giving-congress-a-big-share-of-up-seats",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-23T13:27:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/samajwadi-party-congress-uttar-pradesh-assembly-elections-seat-sharing-tussle-180-seats-list-10934054/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress are locked in a contentious struggle over seat-sharing for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The SP insists the Congress share names of \"winnable candidates\", while the Congress has instead shared a list of 180 Assembly seats. This has irked the SP, which is unhappy with Congress leaders' media statements about the number of seats they should receive. SP insiders are particularly upset with Rajendra Pal Gautam, AICC in-charge, who has claimed the party should secure around 200 seats, roughly half of the 403 seats in the UP Assembly. Congress sources state that the party is focusing on the \"quality of seats\" rather than the quantity, and have divided the seats into four categories based on internal assessments. The SP has taken a \"wait-and-watch\" stance, asking the Congress to share a list of \"winnable candidates\" and strong candidates. The Congress feels this demand is unreasonable, as no party does this elsewhere. The two parties also disagree on the dozen seats in the Congress list that have sitting SP MLAs, with the SP believing it is unlikely to win these seats. Despite the tensions, both parties are confident the alliance will continue.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Samajwadi Party wary of Congress receiving 200+ seats in UP elections.",
    "Congress focuses on quality of seats, divides them into four categories.",
    "SP demands list of winnable candidates, rejects Congress' unreasonable demand."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The disagreement over seat allocation and candidate quality threatens the stability of the alliance as both parties struggle to balance mathematical claims with the practical reality of winnability.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}