By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : In an indication that their talks have entered a rough patch, Samajwadi Party and Congress on Monday decided to find “common ground” in Uttar Pradesh state, instead of carrying out discussions on a “seat-by-seat” basis for the Lok Sabha (Lower House) polls.
The second round of seat-sharing talks between the two parties saw both sides deciding to exchange lists of seats in apparent attempts to avoid acrimony over the issue.
The move has come in the backdrop of the SP’s refusal to give an extra inch to the Congress in UP and also rejecting suggestions for ‘friendly fight’ in a few seats like Rampur and Pratapgarh which were won by the Samajwadi Party last time.
Sources said that the idea to avoid talks on a seat-by- seat basis was aimed at finding “common ground” for a lasting alliance.
The Congress side was led by Rahul Gandhi with party general secretary in-charge of UP Digvijay Singh and State Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi also present.
SP general secretary Amar Singh and SP parliamentary party leader Ram Gopal Yadav represented the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led party.
Joshi later said the talks were cordial and the next meeting would take place sometime next week. Amar Singh had a meeting with Mulayam later but both refused to say anything on the talks.
SP is also seeking “few seats” in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh states where the Congress is in a much better position.
The SP had won 39 seats in the last Lok Sabha (Lower House) elections, while the Congress had emerged victorious in nine constituencies.