Samajwadi Party MP Shiv Pal Singh Patel claimed Rahul Gandhi was reluctant to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Raebareli and said Akhilesh Yadav persuaded him to enter the race.
Samajwadi Party MP Shiv Pal Singh Patel has claimed that Rahul Gandhi was initially reluctant to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Raebareli and only agreed after reassurance from SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Speaking to PTI Videos on Saturday, Patel also credited the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance with the Congress’s six-seat victory in Uttar Pradesh. He claimed that without the alliance, the Congress would not have won any Lok Sabha seat in the state.
Patel Claims Rahul Gandhi Was Reluctant to Contest
According to Patel, Rahul Gandhi was at one point prepared to give up his Lok Sabha seat. He claimed Gandhi decided to contest from Raebareli instead of Amethi after Akhilesh Yadav encouraged him to enter the election.
Patel alleged that Yadav even indicated that the Samajwadi Party would field its own candidate if Gandhi did not contest.
The SP MP described Gandhi as “scared” and said the Congress leader eventually entered the Raebareli contest after Yadav’s intervention. These remarks represent Patel’s political assessment of the events surrounding the 2024 election.
SP Credits Alliance for Congress’ UP Performance
Patel said the Samajwadi Party transferred its support to Congress candidates wherever the two parties had reached a seat-sharing arrangement.
He pointed to the 2024 Lok Sabha results in Uttar Pradesh, where the Samajwadi Party won 37 seats while Congress secured six. The BJP won 33 seats in the state, while the NDA won 36.
Patel argued that the Congress should recognise the SP’s stronger position in Uttar Pradesh when discussing future seat-sharing arrangements.
“We are far ahead of the Congress in every respect,” Patel said, while arguing that the Congress should not demand more than 50 seats in a potential alliance.
‘We Are the Elder Brother,’ Says Patel
Responding to questions about Congress seeking a larger share of seats in Uttar Pradesh, Patel described the Samajwadi Party as the “elder brother” in the state.
His comments come amid discussions within opposition parties about alliance strategies and seat-sharing in Uttar Pradesh.
Patel also dismissed the Congress’s caste-based political strategy, including the appointment of a Brahmin as state Congress president and a Muslim as working president. He argued that such moves would not significantly change the political equation in the state.
Congress Hits Back at SP MP
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi criticised Patel’s remarks and said the Samajwadi Party should rein in leaders making such statements.
Awasthi argued that the INDIA bloc alliance helped Patel become an MP and urged him to avoid making what Congress described as unwarranted remarks.
The exchange highlights the continuing differences between the two opposition parties over their respective political strength and the terms of any future alliance in Uttar Pradesh.
5 Key Takeaways
- SP MP Shiv Pal Singh Patel claimed Rahul Gandhi was initially reluctant to contest from Raebareli.
- Patel said Akhilesh Yadav persuaded Gandhi to enter the 2024 Lok Sabha race.
- The SP MP credited the SP-Congress alliance for Congress winning six seats in Uttar Pradesh.
- Patel called the Samajwadi Party the “elder brother” in Uttar Pradesh.
- Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi hit back, saying Patel should avoid such remarks.
