‘Cong wants to contest 40 seats in UP’

The Congress in Uttar Pradesh has asked for 40 Lok Sabha seats during seat-sharing talks with its new-found ally Samajwadi Party in the next general elections and said a final decision would be taken only after a formula in this regard was devised by its central leadership. “The talks are on. After the second round of talks between leaders of both the parties in New Delhi, a decision could be taken on seat-sharing,” PCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee reconstituted its executive body on Friday to appease the party cadres. Contrary to the idea floated by AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi to have a compact body, the new committee has more than 350 leaders. “We are all set to enter into a political alliance with the Samajwadi Party and cannot ignore its cadres,” a senior UPCC leader said.