Amid speculation of tensions between INDIA bloc allies Samajwadi Party and Congress over seat-sharing for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the DMK backed SP president Akhilesh Yadav’s statement, emphasising that alliance victory is more important than seat-sharing, and urged parties to unitedly defeat the BJP.

Following reports on the rift within the INDIA boc allies, Yadav took to the social media platform X on Sunday to assert that the primary focus should be on defeating the BJP and protecting democracy, the Constitution, and reservation.

DMK spokesperson T K S Elangovan said the party backs SP’s stance. “The alliance should win and defeat the BJP. One party getting two or three seats more is not the question. Everybody should stand united to defeat the BJP,” he said.

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‘EC not neutral body’

“The Election Commission is a neutral body. But after Gyanesh Kumar had come, it is not a neutral body,” he claimed, alleging that Kumar was functioning under the influence of the ruling party at the Centre.

Speculations over the rift between SP and Congress come amid Opposition parties’ clarion call to protest against the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls and the Election Commission. Key INDIA bloc leaders met last week to chalk out ways to organise a joint protest seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, halt the SIR process following Express Investigation revealing the rupture within the EC and Form 6 irregularities.

Uttar Pradesh polls

As Uttar Pradesh is headed for Assembly polls in February 2027, the Congress party has undergone a leadership revamp, reportedly drawing the ire of SP members. The appointment of Saharanpur MP Imran Masood as working president of its Uttar Pradesh Congress has been reportedly perceived as a “pressure tactic” to bargain for more seats in the polls.

While SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told that Masood’s appointment would have no adverse impact on his party’s seat-sharing talks with the Congress, some other SP leaders privately expressed discomfort over the development.

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“I don’t understand what is in the mind of the top Congress leadership. The new UP Congress president, Aradhana Misra Mona, and her father, Pramod Tiwari, have cordial relations with the SP. Her appointment will only help in smoothening dialogue between the two parties regarding the UP polls. But Masood, through his remarks on the SP, often creates uneasiness. Now, things will depend on how much authority senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra give Masood in seat-sharing talks,” an SP insider told earlier.

Masood, 56, a prominent face in western Uttar Pradesh politics, had rejoined Congress in 2023 following brief stints with BSP and SP. Masood, triggered row on September 21 as he told ANI that Akhilesh’s political activity was “meaningless” unless the alliance was finalised. “Finalise the alliance if you have to have an alliance. If it (the alliance) is not to be done, we (Congress) are going ahead with our preparations. Akhilesh ji should finish this work (alliance finalisation) immediately. If you have to lead, the responsibility is on you. Dil bhi aapko bada karna padega (You will have to have a large heart),” Masood said.

He said the SP should not think of moving ahead without the Congress. “Because if you are going ahead without the Congress, defeating the BJP is not in your mind. Only the Congress can fight the BJP,” he said.

In June 2025, Masood had also stirred the alliance debate by saying the “62-17 formula” would not work in the 2027 Assembly polls, referring to the seat-sharing arrangement between the two allies for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

With inputs from PTI