Editor's Pick | Congress opts out of bypolls in U.P., offers full support to SP

The Congress on Thursday announced that it will not field any candidate of its own in the upcoming byelection to nine Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. Instead, it will extend unconditional support to the Samajwadi Party (SP) and other members of the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). Joining forces to defeat the BJP and protect the Constitution takes precedence over party interests, said U.P. Congress chief Ajay Rai, and the All India Congress Committee’s in-charge for the State, Avinash Pande, who addressed a press conference at the party headquarters. Soon afterwards, in Lucknow, the Samajwadi Party announced its nominees for the two seats — Ghaziabad and Khair — that it is said to have initially offered to the Congress. The Congress high command’s decision on U.P. comes after it faced criticism over its debacle in the Haryana Assembly election, where the Congress was blamed for ignoring claims made by other members of the INDIA bloc, such as the Aam Admi party. The nine Assembly seats going to the polls on November 13 are Katehari, Karhal, Mirapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur, and Kundarki. In Delhi, Mr. Pande and Mr. Rai told presspersons that Congress workers would unconditionally work to ensure the victory of the SP candidates and other INDIA partners. “If the BJP is not stopped today, then the Constitution, brotherhood and mutual harmony will weaken in the times to come,” Mr. Rai alleged. “We have to ensure the defeat of the BJP nominees so that it has a positive impact on the Assembly polls in 2027,” he added. He said the decision was taken after consultations involving Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Mr. Gandhi, the AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, Mr. Pande himself, and Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Misra, along with the SP leadership. Thursday’s announcement by the Congress also comes a day after the SP chief had said that all the INDIA bloc candidates would contest the bypolls on the party’s ‘cycle’ election symbol. He had said the decision was not informed by any seat-sharing math, but a pursuit of victory. The Hindu’s Editorials Building blocks: on the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan Cost of Games: On the 2026 Commonwealth Games The Hindu’s Daily Quiz Where is the logistics hub of the United Nations peacekeeping forces located? N’Djamena, Chad Brindisi, Italy Kigali, Rwanda Antalya, Turkey To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 25 October 2024 [The Hindu logo] [EP Logo] Editor's Pick 25 October 2024 In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Congress opts out of bypolls in U.P., offers full support to SP The Congress on Thursday announced that it will not field any candidate of its own in the [upcoming byelection]( to nine Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. Instead, it will extend unconditional support to the Samajwadi Party (SP) and other members of the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). Joining forces to defeat the BJP and protect the Constitution takes precedence over party interests, said U.P. Congress chief Ajay Rai, and the All India Congress Committee’s in-charge for the State, Avinash Pande, who addressed a press conference at the party headquarters. Soon afterwards, in Lucknow, the Samajwadi Party announced its nominees for the two seats — Ghaziabad and Khair — that it is said to have initially offered to the Congress. The Congress high command’s decision on U.P. comes after it faced criticism over its debacle in the Haryana Assembly election, where the Congress was blamed for ignoring claims made by other members of the INDIA bloc, such as the Aam Admi party. The nine Assembly seats going to the polls on November 13 are Katehari, Karhal, Mirapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur, and Kundarki. In Delhi, Mr. Pande and Mr. Rai told presspersons that Congress workers would unconditionally work to ensure the victory of the SP candidates and other INDIA partners.  “If the BJP is not stopped today, then the Constitution, brotherhood and mutual harmony will weaken in the times to come,” Mr. Rai alleged. “We have to ensure the defeat of the BJP nominees so that it has a positive impact on the Assembly polls in 2027,” he added. He said the decision was taken after consultations involving Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Mr. Gandhi, the AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, Mr. Pande himself, and Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Misra, along with the SP leadership. Thursday’s announcement by the Congress also comes a day after the SP chief had said that all the INDIA bloc candidates would contest the bypolls on the party’s ‘cycle’ election symbol. He had said the decision was not informed by any seat-sharing math, but a pursuit of victory. The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Building blocks: on the 16th BRICS Summit in KazanÂ]( [Arrow][Cost of Games: On the 2026 Commonwealth GamesÂ]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz Where is the logistics hub of the United Nations peacekeeping forces located? - N’Djamena, Chad - Brindisi, Italy - Kigali, Rwanda - Antalya, Turkey To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here](. 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