Samajwadi Party leader Shiv Pal Singh Patel has asserted that the Congress would have won no seats in Uttar Pradesh during the Lok Sabha elections without the support of the Samajwadi Party. Patel further alleged that Rahul Gandhi displayed reluctance to contest from Amethi, opting for Raebareli only after significant pressure from Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. He emphasized that the Samajwadi Party's dedicated votes were the sole reason for the Congress securing its six seats in the state, highlighting the crucial role of the alliance in the INDIA bloc's performance against the NDA in Uttar Pradesh.

Samajwadi Party leader Shiv Pal Singh Patel has asserted that the Congress would have won no seats in Uttar Pradesh during the Lok Sabha elections without the support of the Samajwadi Party. Patel further alleged that Rahul Gandhi displayed reluctance to contest from Amethi, opting for Raebareli only after significant pressure from Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. He emphasized that the Samajwadi Party's dedicated votes were the sole reason for the Congress securing its six seats in the state, highlighting the crucial role of the alliance in the INDIA bloc's performance against the NDA in Uttar Pradesh.

Samajwadi Party leader Shiv Pal Singh Patel has asserted that the Congress would have won no seats in Uttar Pradesh during the Lok Sabha elections without the support of the Samajwadi Party. Patel further alleged that Rahul Gandhi displayed reluctance to contest from Amethi, opting for Raebareli only after significant pressure from Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. He emphasized that the Samajwadi Party's dedicated votes were the sole reason for the Congress securing its six seats in the state, highlighting the crucial role of the alliance in the INDIA bloc's performance against the NDA in Uttar Pradesh.

If not for the Samajwadi Party, the Congress would have drawn a blank in Uttar Pradesh during the Lok Sabha polls, claimed Shiv Pal Singh Patel. Shockingly, the Samajwadi Party MP added that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was "reluctant to contest" from Amethi and chose Raebareli because he was "so scared". Had Akhilesh Yadav not pressurised him to contest, Rahul Gandhi wouldn’t have fought the polls, he added.

In Uttar Pradesh, the INDIA bloc had dealt a major blow to the NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by claiming 43 seats. The saffron camp was reduced to 36 seats from its tally of 64 in 2019. Uttar Pradesh has a total of 80 seats.

In 2024, the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP won 37 seats, while six Congress candidates, including Rahul Gandhi, entered the Lok Sabha. With the assembly polls fast approaching, Shiv Pal Singh Patel’s remarks targeting Rahul Gandhi will not do the Congress-SP alliance any good. Reports claim that the alliance looks shaky already, despite Akhilesh’s plans to bring the BJP juggernaut to a halt in the state.

"Had there been no alliance (with the Samajwadi Party), they (Congress) wouldn't have won a single seat. It even reached a point where their top leader Rahul Gandhi was ready to give up his seat. He contested from elsewhere (Raebareli) instead of Amethi. He was so scared," the Pratapgarh MP told news agency PTI.

Patel added that Akhilesh Yadav made it clear that if Rahul was not willing to contest, then the SP would field its own candidate from the seat instead of backing a Congress nominee. It was then that Rahul agreed to enter the fray.

Rahul Gandhi first entered the Lok Sabha in 2004, contesting Amethi. He won comfortably and retained the seat in 2009 and 2014. However, Smriti Irani defeated the Congress leader in 2019 to become a Union Minister. Gandhi nevertheless entered the Lok Sabha that year after winning Wayanad in Kerala.

Rae Bareli was represented by Sonia Gandhi between 2004 2019. In 2024, Rahul Gandhi contested Rae Bareli as well as Wayanad. He won Rae Bareli decisively, securing 390,030 votes.

"It was our national president who reassured and persuaded him, asking him to contest and warning that if he didn't, he (Akhilesh) would field his own candidate. Only then did Gandhi agree to contest. Otherwise, he was extremely reluctant to run for that traditional seat, the one said to belong to the Nehru family. Gandhi only managed to win it because of that persuasion," he reportedly told PTI.

"Every single vote from the Samajwadi Party went to the Congress wherever they were allotted seats. That is precisely how they managed to win those six seats," he said.

Currently, in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly, the Congress has two MLAs, while the Samajwadi Party has 101 MLAs. Shiv Pal Singh Patel categorically said the Congress should not ask for more than 50 seats in the state.

Patel said the Congress may have a different standing in other states, but wherever it has contested alone, it has lost ground.

"If we proceed with an alliance, we will certainly benefit. Even if it doesn't happen, we won't have any significant loss. But for them, the tally will drop to zero. I can say this with confidence: if they don't contest as part of an alliance, they will end up with zero seats. The public will realise they are fielding candidates solely to split votes. If they act as vote-spoilers, they will be reduced to zero," Patel said.

Meanwhile, reacting to Patel's comments, Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi told PTI, "The Samajwadi Party must work to rein in leaders who make such statements. It is because of the INDIA bloc that he (Patel) has become an MP. He should know his limits and avoid making statements like these."

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