Congress MP Imran Masood on Wednesday, 15 July publicly challenged Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav to offer a more generous seat-sharing arrangement to the Congress ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, drawing a direct parallel with the 2024 Lok Sabha alliance that the SP-Congress combine rode to 37 seats. The remarks sharpened an already simmering tension within the INDIA bloc's UP unit over how seats will be divided between the two parties.

What Imran Masood Said

Masood, responding to SP leaders who had suggested that alliance decisions rested with Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi — not with him — pushed back firmly. 'I never said anything like that. When did I say that? I speak about the Congress party,' he said. He insisted he was not opposed to the alliance but demanded it move beyond rhetoric: 'If you are shouting gathbandhan, then bring it to the ground. If you don't bring it to the ground and it only exists on TV and in statements, then what is the meaning of that alliance? That is not honesty.'

The Numbers Masood Cited

The Congress MP anchored his argument in electoral arithmetic. He pointed out that in 2014, the SP contested alone and won five seats; in 2019, the SP-BSP alliance again yielded five seats. In 2024, he argued, the Congress partnership — energised by the Bharat Jodo Yatra — transformed the alliance's haul to 37 seats. 'Conclusion can be drawn from this itself,' Masood said, asserting that the country 'wants the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.'

The Seat-Count Grievance

Masood's sharpest point was a direct challenge over seat allocation. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress was given only 17 seats to contest in Uttar Pradesh, while the SP fielded candidates across a far larger share. 'Then why did you win 37 seats, and why were we given just 17 seats to contest from? At that time, you could have allowed us to contest from 60 seats,' he said. He acknowledged that the Congress had accepted the smaller share in 2024 on the understanding that Rahul Gandhi could become Prime Minister if the opposition prevailed — and argued that the SP must now reciprocate that spirit. 'Now, if you want to become Chief Minister, you should show the same generosity,' he told Yadav directly.

BJP Weighs In

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh seized on the rift, predicting that Congress would be 'completely wiped out' in Uttar Pradesh if it contested the Assembly polls without the SP's support. 'Here, the base is of the Samajwadi Party. Now, if Congress feels that it has become very strong, then if it contests without the Samajwadi Party, it will be completely wiped out,' he said. The BJP's intervention underscores how the ruling party views public disagreements within the INDIA bloc as an electoral opportunity.

What This Means for the UP Alliance

The public exchange signals that seat-sharing negotiations between the Congress and SP for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls remain unresolved and contentious. Both parties have a shared interest in consolidating anti-BJP votes, but the Congress — emboldened by its 2024 Lok Sabha performance — is pushing for a larger footprint in the state. Whether top leadership on both sides can bridge the gap before the election cycle intensifies will determine whether the alliance holds or fractures ahead of one of India's most consequential state contests.