Congress and Samajwadi Party, the opposition INDIA bloc partners in Uttar Pradesh, have reached a consensus for contesting the by-elections to 10 assembly seats in the state together. Sources in the SP said the Congress would contest three seats and the SP the remaining seven seats. The sources said Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi would take the final call on this issue and matter was likely to be decided after the Lok Sabha budget session commencing on July 22 and ending on August 12. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the SP-Congress alliance made a massive impact in Uttar Pradesh, securing 43 seats collectively and reducing the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance to just 36 seats. Upbeat by this success, the INDIA bloc partners are now focusing on a strategic seat-sharing arrangement for the by-elections to the 10 UP assembly seats scheduled for later this year. According to sources, a meeting of all district presidents has been called by UP Congress on July 21 in Lucknow for consultations. Sources in Congress also confirmed that the SP was likely to contest seven seats while Congress may get three seats. Of the 10 assembly seats set to go to the polls, five were previously held by the SP, three by the BJP, and one each by BJP allies Rashtriya Lok Dal and the NISHAD Party. Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ajay Rai has already confirmed that high-level discussions regarding seat-sharing are ongoing, with both parties determined to present a united front in the by-elections. While the exact distribution of seats between the SP and Congress remains undecided, senior Congress leaders have indicated that the party will likely seek seats previously held by the BJP and its allies. The UP assembly declared these 10 seats vacant between June 7 and 18, and the by-elections are to be held within six months from the date of vacancy. The Election Commission of India is expected to conduct the by-elections alongside the assembly elections in Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra later this year. The five seats held by the SP included Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Milkipur (Ayodhya), Kundarki (Moradabad), and Sisamau (Kanpur). The Sisamau seat was declared vacant following the disqualification of sitting SP MLA Irfan Solanki after his conviction in a criminal case with seven-year imprisonment. Katehari assembly seat was vacated by SP MLA Lalji Verma, who won the Ambedkar Nagar Lok Sabha seat. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav resigned from the Karhal (Mainpuri) assembly seat after his election to Lok Sabha from Kannauj. The ruling BJP has already started preparations for the bypolls to 10 assembly seats. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has constituted 10 teams comprising 30 ministers for these 10 assembly seats. This week, on Wednesday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a marathon meeting with the ministers and finalised the   details of the election and campaign strategy.

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