BSP, SP announce alliance in Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh for 2019 polls

While the SP will contest in one Uttarakhand seat, BSP will fight on 4. In Madhya Pradesh, the BSP has 26 seats, while SP has just three.

BSP, SP announce alliance in Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

After stitching up an alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) have announced a tie-up in Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In press statements released by the two parties, the BSP said it will contest more Lok Sabha seats than the Samajwadi Party in both the states.

While the SP will contest from Uttarakhand’s Gadhwal district, in Madhya Pradesh it will fight from three seats — Balaghat, Thikri and Khajuraho. The BSP will field candidates from the rest of the seats in both the states. While Madhya Pradesh has 29 Lok Sabha constituencies, Uttarakhand has five.

Earlier, both the parties had sealed an alliance in Uttar Pradesh where the SP will fight on 37 seats and the BSP on 38. Three seats in the state have gone to the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

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SP-BSP alliance in Madhya Pradesh BSP, SP announce alliance in Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh

SP-BSP alliance in Uttarakhand

Read | Uttar Pradesh: As BSP, SP carve up seats, in 26, alliance up against ground reality

The 37 seats in the SP quota include Kairana, Moradabad, Sambhal, Rampur, Mainpuri, Firozabad, Badaun, Bareilly, Lucknow, Etawah, Kanpur, Kannauj, Jhansi, Banda, Allahabad, Kaushambi, Phulpur, Faizabad, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Varanasi and Mirzapur.

The BSP will contest from Saharanpur, Bijnor, Nagina, Aligarh, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Dhaurahara, Sitapur, Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Kaiserganj, Basti, Salempur, Jaunpur, Bhadohi and Deoria, among other constituencies. The SP-BSP alliance will not field any candidate from Amethi and Rae Bareli, the bastions of Congress.

BSP to contest all 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar

In what may be seen as a blow to the disjointed anti-NDA front in Bihar, the Bahujan Samaj Party has decided to contest all the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state, a senior party functionary said.

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According to BSP state in-charge Lalji Medhkar, party supremo Mayawati has convened a meeting of all potential candidates and other office-bearers in the national capital later this week.

Behenji has instructed us to start preparations for all the Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. Detailed instructions are expected at the meeting in New Delhi on February 28, Medhkar told PTI.