SP's national spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said a formal announcement on the gathbandhan between the two key parties in Uttar Pradesh is likely later this month.
The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have agreed to an alliance ahead for the Lok Sabha elections, an SP leader said Saturday.
A formal announcement on the gathbandhan between the two key parties in Uttar Pradesh is likely later this month, SP's national spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI.
He said Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati had given their in-principle approval for an alliance after a series of meetings.
The two leaders also met on Friday, he said.
Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati met at latter's residence in Delhi to discuss seat-sharing formula for their alliance in Uttar Pradesh. The meeting between the two leaders lasted for over one and a half hours.
SP General Secretary and Akhilesh confidante Ramgopal Yadav was also present in the meeting. While the alliance between the two parties in UP is almost final, the two leaders are said to have discussed seat sharing formula which will be announced soon.
Once bitter rivals, now allies against the BJP, the two have reportedly agreed to keep the Congress out of their alliance in the state which has 80 Lok Sabha seats up for grabs.
Speaking to media, Ramgopal Yadav on Saturday denied any knowledge about the talks.
"I don’t know if talks have taken place, if there is an announcement it will be made by behen Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav," he said.
According to sources, the two parties will contest elections on equal number of seats and will also accommodate smaller parties, besides the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which has its base in western UP.
Sources said that both SP and BSP are likely to contest 35 seats each while RLD may get 4 seats under the agreement. The alliance will not contest Raebareli and Amethi, represented in Lok Sabha by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi respectively, and will also leave four seats for smaller allies.
While the discussion on seats sharing and which seat falls under which party's kitty will continue in coming weeks, both parties have agreed to keep the Congress out of the alliance.
(With PTI inputs)
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