Samajwadi Party Eyes National Party Status by Contesting Assam Assembly Elections

Lucknow: After a landslide victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Samajwadi Party is eyeing national party status. As part of this strategy, the party plans to contest the Assam assembly elections for the first time. Media reports claim that the SP may field candidates in five to 10 seats. It will be officially announced soon. The assembly elections in Assam are due in 2026. It is reported that the SP will field candidates in Muslim-majority areas of Assam. SP president Akhilesh Yadav may also go there to campaign. Two SP MLAs in Maharashtra and one SP MLA in Gujarat are outside the UP. This is well below the national party standard. In fact, to get national party status, the party must have at least 6% of the total valid votes in at least four states in the Lok Sabha or assembly elections. Also, it must have at least four seats in the Lok Sabha or less than 2% of the total seats in the states.