Barely a day after the INDIA bloc put up a united show of strength at a rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the Narendra Modi government over alleged electoral irregularities, a row has erupted between its two key constituents, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP), after the All India Congress Committee (AICC)’s in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, Rajendra Pal Gautam, met former SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya.
Gautam’s meeting with Maurya, a prominent non-Yadav OBC leader of UP, has upset the SP leadership, sources said. Maurya had joined the SP after quitting the BJP and his ministerial post in the Yogi Adityanath government ahead of the 2022 state Assembly elections. He resigned from the SP in February 2024 in the wake of his controversial remarks on Ramcharitmanas, which the Akhilesh Yadav-led party then said was damaging the party’s prospects in the state.
Maurya’s statement, made in February this year, that Akhilesh was “confused” about the acronym of his PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpasankhyak) plank, widened the rift between them. “The national president of the party (Akhilesh) is confused. Sometimes he says D is for Dalit and sometimes, he says it is for Dimple Yadav,” he had alleged.
Maurya, who has floated his own Apni Janta Party, had met top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi last month, claiming that he has joined the INDIA alliance.
On Friday, however, Akhilesh made it clear that there was no place for Maurya or his party within the Opposition bloc in UP. “We don’t welcome him in the alliance. There is no seat to share with him for the Assembly elections,” he said.
Gautam has been making statements on the issue of seat sharing between the Congress and the SP for the UP Assembly elections slated for February 2027. After interacting with Maurya in Delhi Monday, he shared the photos of the meeting on X.
The SP camp was however not amused, given its bitter relations with Maurya. “How can an office-bearer of our ally openly meet Maurya, who has made public remarks against the family of our leader (Akhilesh),” said an SP MP.
The SP leaders refrained from officially commenting on the meeting, saying it will be taken up by Akhilesh with Gandhis and the Congress leadership. “Why should we comment on it? You should ask Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi if they support such personal remarks in politics,” said a senior SP leader.
On his meeting with Maurya, Gautam told The Indian Express that it was a meeting with a “friend”. “Should I stop meeting my friends? Those who have been fighting the battle for social justice alongside me across the country for years are my friends, and I will continue meeting them. When elections come, discussions about seat-sharing will take place. That is a separate matter and will be decided at the appropriate time.”
On Maurya’s earlier remarks on Akhilesh and Dimple, however, Gautam said: “I don’t support such personal remarks in politics. They should not be made.”
A senior Dalit leader, Gautam’s relations with the SP have remained uneasy and tense. In May this year, his visit along with Congress Dalit MP Tanuj Punia to BSP chief Maywati’s residence in Lucknow had not gone down well with both the SP and the Congress which distanced itself from it.
While their meeting with Mayawati did not take place, the Congress later issued a show cause to Gautam and Punia, seeking an explanation from them.
Since June 2026, when Gautam was appointed the AICC in-charge for UP, he has had several run-ins with the SP over the seat-sharing issue. Recently, he claimed that the Congress has sent a list of 180 of UP’s 403 seats to the SP that it would want to contest in the Assembly elections. This was denied by the SP.
Gautam’s claims that the Congress would not contest less than 180-200 seats, has upset the SP, which is looking to give its junior ally in UP about 70-80 seats.
A Congress MP From UP also said Gautam should avoid making such remarks or moves, which could create friction between the two allies. “On Sunday, we saw great chemistry between our leaders – Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav – and the workers who reached Ramlila Maidan. But, just a day later, this meeting has again triggered the SP. Who is Swami Prasad? What political benefits would he bring? I say, nothing. Then why meet him when you are in such a senior AICC position,” the Congress MP said.
Gautam is seen by a section of the UP Congress as a “political lightweight”. “There is a difference between activism and politics. Who you meet, what you say has to be measured. Gautam ji is not doing that. And the loss will be suffered by those who have been fighting against the BJP in UP for years. Those who have dozens of cases. He has come in June, he will leave soon. We will live in the state and suffer,” said a state Congress leader.
Another Congress leader said the alliance’s objective should be to defeat the BJP by showcasing unity. “Mr Gautam is doing the opposite. Every second day, he does something new to create friction between the two allies. This will only help the BJP,” said the leader.
Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusin... Read More
