LUCKNOW — Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has assigned Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to take command of party operations in Uttar Pradesh, ordering an internal overhaul before formal seat-sharing talks launch with Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party.
Negotiators plan to open bilateral negotiations immediately following the Chhath Puja festivities. The directive hands Priyanka Gandhi immediate control over screening prospective candidates across 100 to 115 constituencies, drafting the election manifesto, and steering campaign coordination committees. She will also spearhead four massive regional rallies across Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Awadh, and Western Uttar Pradesh. The goal is blunt: pick nominees capable of defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party while toeing the central party line.
Discipline broke down in recent weeks. Several state Congress functionaries claimed the organization had drawn up targets for 180 to 200 seats, prompting Samajwadi Party interlocutors to push back and peg an offer closer to 80 to 100 seats. Priyanka Gandhi stepped in directly. She ordered state presidents, working presidents, and regional office-bearers to halt public posturing that could jeopardize the coalition.
The Samajwadi Party approaches the negotiating table from a position of renewed strength. Akhilesh Yadav's outfit seized five of 11 contested Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council seats in recent voting, expanding its previous tally of three. Yadav framed the outcome as a direct blow to the BJP, claiming the tally solidifies his ground game for the 2027 assembly elections.
Samajwadi Party leaders maintain that while national alignments bow to Congress leadership in New Delhi, Lucknow remains their turf. State leaders insist the Samajwadi Party will dictate terms as the regional "big brother" in Uttar Pradesh.
Alliance managers also face a lingering personnel hazard in Swami Prasad Maurya. The former minister defected from the BJP to the Samajwadi Party before the 2022 polls, lost his race, and subsequently launched the Janata Party. Maurya has launched sharp public attacks against Yadav's backward-caste outreach platform. While Congress state in-charge Rajendra Gautam maintains ties with Maurya, Samajwadi Party officials have drawn a firm boundary, warning that Maurya will receive no space in the coalition unless Congress accommodates him entirely out of its own allotted seat quota.
Final seat allocations will bypass local panels. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Akhilesh Yadav will settle the final slate directly once post-Chhath negotiations get underway.