India elections 2024: Samajwadi Party announces names of 16 candidates from Uttar Pradesh

As India gears up for the upcoming general elections in April, the Samajwadi Party (SP) has revealed a list of 16 candidates, including notable figures such as Dimple Yadav, Shafiqur Rahman Barq, and Ravidas Mehrotra, from Uttar Pradesh.

This comes days after SP president Akhilesh Yadav expressed satisfaction with the alliance seat sharing between SP and Congress, emphasising the positive start in the state.

In an announcement on Saturday (Jan 27), Yadav shared in a post on X, "Our cordial alliance with the Congress is off to a good start with 11 strong seats. This trend will move forward with the winning equation. ‘INDIA’ team and ‘PDA’ (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) strategy will change history."

The candidates' list includes Akshay Yadav, Devesh Shakya, Dharmendra Yadav, Anu Tandon, Naval Kishore Shakya, Rajaram Pal, Utkarsh Verma, Anand Bhadauria, Shivshankar Singh Patel, Awadhesh Prasad, Ramprasad Chaudhary, and Kajal Nishad.

Meanwhile, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) faced a setback as Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar, severing ties with the combined opposition'salliance.

In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also expressed her party's independent stance stating, "I had no discussions with the Congress. I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I am not concerned about what will be done in the (rest of the) country... but we are a secular party, and in Bengal, we alone will defeat BJP."

Uttar Pradesh, with its 80 seats, holds significant importance in the Lok Sabha elections. BJP's strong performance in this state has been a key factor in their national dominance. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured 62 seats out of the total 80. BJP overshadowed the pre-poll alliance among the SP, RLD, and BSP, which only managed to secure 15 seats.

(With inputs from agencies)