'They ran away, they were scared': SP MP Shiv Pal Patel slams Rahul Gandhi over Amethi seat
SP MP Shiv Pal Patel targets Rahul Gandhi, claiming he "ran away" from Amethi and criticizing Congress's seat demands in UP.
In a sharp escalation of friction within the INDIA bloc, Samajwadi Party (SP) Rajya Sabha MP Shiv Pal Singh Patel has launched a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Patel claimed that Gandhi "ran away" from Amethi during the last Lok Sabha elections due to fear, highlighting the growing tension between allies over seat-sharing for the upcoming 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
'They were scared': SP MP on Rahul Gandhi's Amethi exit
Speaking to media, Patel suggested that Gandhi lacks a significant mass base in Uttar Pradesh. He alleged that the decision for Gandhi to contest from Raebareli instead of Amethi was a result of intense pressure from the Samajwadi Party leadership.
"Rahul Gandhi doesn't really have one [a mass base] here. The ground reality is this: we remember that in the last elections, they ran away from Amethi. Why did they run away from Amethi? They were scared; they had already lost once," Patel remarked.
Patel further detailed how the seat arrangement for Raebareli was finalized. He stated that Akhilesh Yadav had to intervene, warning that if Congress did not contest from their traditional seat, the Samajwadi Party would field its own candidate. "Akhilesh Yadav ji explained that it has always been your party's traditional seat... He told him, 'Fine, you go.' Then they agreed, and everyone worked hard," the MP added.
Seat-sharing friction: SP slams Congress's "unreasonable" demands
The rift between the two allies is becoming increasingly visible as they approach the 2027 UP elections. Congress has reportedly demanded 150 seats in the state, a demand that Patel dismissed as "nonsense."
Comparing the strength of the two parties, Patel pointed out the massive disparity in their legislative presence in Uttar Pradesh. "The Congress party's demands are highly unreasonable. They currently have two MLAs, whereas we have 125. Based on that ratio, they should receive seven or eight seats," he said.
He suggested that Congress's realistic capacity in the state is much lower than their demands. "We can give them even 50 seats; anything beyond that would simply mean wasting seats and risking defeat. Their realistic capacity is around 25-30 seats," Patel asserted.
Impact of past alliances and the PDA formula
Reflecting on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Patel noted that out of 17 seats allocated to Congress, they managed to win only six. He also blamed a previous alliance in 2017 for the Samajwadi Party's losses in the state.
The SP leader credited the party's 'PDA' formula for expanding its reach among backward and Dalit communities, claiming that voters who once supported the BSP have shifted toward the Samajwadi Party. He asserted that the public stands with Akhilesh Yadav for governance, while claiming the Congress has made "no contribution" to this momentum.
In response to the growing public friction, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav has urged party leaders to keep all discussions regarding seat-sharing and Congress negotiations within internal party channels to maintain unity.