The Congress has been offered 17 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party said on Monday, adding that party chief Akhilesh Yadav won't participate in the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra until seat-sharing is finalised.
"We have given a final offer of 17 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress. Akhilesh Yadav's participation in the Nyay Yatra in Raebareli on Tuesday will depend on their acceptance," Rajendra Chaudhary, the Samajwadi Party's chief spokesperson, told PTI.
He,however, refused to identify the seats offered to Congress.
The yatra will pass through Amethi on Monday. It will then enter Raebareli, where the Samajwadi Party chief had earlier said he would join.
Speaking to ANI, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said, "Right now talks are going on, lists have come from them, we have also given them the list. The moment, seat distribution is done, Samajwadi Party will join their Nyaya Yatra."
The Samajwadi Party and the Congress are partners in the INDIA bloc. The success of the seat-sharing talks between the two is crucial, especially after the failure of such talks with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has decided to contest in her state alone.
The Samajwadi Party had earlier offered 11 seats to the grand old party, while the Congress' state unit demanded a higher allocation.
Ajay Rai, the Congress' Uttar Pradesh unit chief, had earlier said the party should get around two dozen seats it had won in the 2009 general elections.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress won only one seat, Rae Bareli. Rahul Gandhi lost to Smriti Irani in Amethi. The Samajwadi Party at that time refrained from contesting in Amethi and Rae Bareli as a gesture of courtesy towards the Congress.
With 80 seats, the state sends the highest number of MPs to Parliament.