Samajwadi Party Absent from India Bloc Lunch Amid Tensions Over Seat-Sharing

The Samajwadi Party was unrepresented at an INDIA bloc lunch hosted by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday, with the Congress attributing the absence of some allies to short notice, even as SP sources voiced concerns over a lack of consultation ahead of . The lunch at a south Indian restaurant on Janpath came hours before opposition MPs were stopped for the second consecutive day from marching towards the Election Commission, at Ashoka Road. While SP sources said party president Akhilesh Yadav was unhappy about not being informed beforehand of Gandhi's move to stage a sit-in at Akashvani Bhavan on Tuesday, they did not specify whether those concerns were behind the party's absence from the lunch. The development comes as the Congress and SP prepare for next year's Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, with differences over seat-sharing already prompting public comments from their leaders. Congress sources said the lunch was decided upon late on Tuesday night and invitations were sent to all alliance partners. Representatives of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP-SP also could not attend because of prior commitments, they said. "All allies, including the SP, were invited to the lunch by Kharge ji's office after a decision was taken late last night," a Congress source said. Congress general secretary in charge (communications) Jairam Ramesh said all parties of the INDIA bloc had been invited, but the decision and communication came late on Tuesday night. "Therefore, it was natural that representatives from some parties could not participate in it. Some media outlets are making unnecessary comments about this," he posted on X. Ramesh asserted that INDIA bloc constituents and other opposition parties remained united against "vote theft", the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and delimitation. SP sources said Yadav had reservations about the way Gandhi's sit-in at Akashvani Bhawan unfolded without prior communication with allies. Yadav had participated in Tuesday's march towards the Election Commission demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. After police stopped the march and began detaining MPs, Gandhi entered the Akashvani premises and staged a sit-in that continued until the evening. According to SP sources, the concern over coordination was not confined to Tuesday's events. They said Yadav had also been unhappy about being informed at the last minute of Gandhi's earlier surprise sit-in outside the prime minister's residence demanding then education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. Yadav had joined that protest despite the short notice, the sources said, adding that last-minute communication should not become the norm in dealings with alliance partners. The Congress and SP contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections together in Uttar Pradesh, where the SP won 37 seats and the Congress six. (With inputs from PTI)