Oct 24, 2024 05:58 PM IST
Avinash Pande said the Congress will work unconditionally to ensure victory of candidates fielded by the SP or other INDIA bloc parties.
The Congress on Thursday said it won’t field candidates for the Uttar Pradesh bypolls on nine assembly seats but will support INDIA bloc nominees, asserting that the decision was driven by the party deciding to prioritize efforts to protect the Constitution over party interests.
“The manner in which political and social tensions are rising in UP and the country and keeping in mind the objectives with which the INDIA bloc was created,… the question is not about strengthening organization or forwarding party interests but to save the Constitution and to strengthen mutual harmony,” said Congress general secretary in-charge of UP Avinash Pande at a joint press conference with Congress’ Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Rai.
Pande said Congress workers and leaders will work unconditionally to ensure victory of candidates fielded by the SP or other INDIA bloc parties in the election scheduled to be held on November 13.
Pande’s announcement comes hours after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav declared on X late on Wednesday that INDIA bloc candidates for the UP bypolls would contest on his party’s election symbol, ‘cycle.’
“The Congress and Samajwadi Party are united and standing shoulder to shoulder for a big victory. INDIA Alliance is going to write a new chapter of victory in this by-election,” Yadav said in the post.
The nine assembly seats where bypolls will be held are Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sishamau (Kanpur city), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj), and Kundarki (Moradabad) in UP.
The SP had initially left the Ghaziabad and Khair seats for the Congress, something that had irked the state Congress leaders. SP leaders said the party agreed to give a third seat after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spoke to Akhilesh Yadav. But the SP did not agree to its ally’s request that the Congress be given the Majhawan seat instead of Ghaziabad, leading the Congress to decide against fielding any candidates.
On Thursday, Pande said that the idea not to field any candidates had come from the party’s state leadership.
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