Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday indicated that the seat-sharing talks with the Congress have been on the right track and the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance in Uttar Pradesh is very much intact. Apparently, the cloud over the seat-sharing talks was dispelled after Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had a chat with Akhilesh over the phone this morning. The Congress is likely to contest from 7 seats in the state. The Congress and the Samajwadi Party will address a joint press conference today in Lucknow today announcing the seat-sharing deal.

A total of 17 seats was what Akhilesh made as his last offer to the Congress and almost gave an ultimatum that he would not join Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the state until the Congress accepted the offer. 17 seats were a notch higher than Akhilesh’s first offer of 11 seats which they later agreed to increase to 15 and then finally 17.

There is no conflict and everything will be clear in front of you very soon, Akhilesh said on Wednesday adding all is well that ends well. Samajwadi Party will contest from the maximum number of seats ‘as many as we can contest’, Akhilesh said.

UP has 80 Lok Sabha constituencies and the Samajwadi Party so far announced 31 candidates. In the latest list of candidates, the Samajwadi Party has fielded Akhilesh’s uncle Shivpal Yadav from Budaun parliamentary constituency. Others include Surendra Singh Patel from Varanasi, Iqra Hasan from Kairana, Praveen Singh Aron from Bareilly and Ajendra Singh Rajput from Hamirpur. In its first list, the SP had fielded Dharmendra Yadav, the son of party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger brother Abhay Ram Yadav, from Budaun.

Priyanka Gandhi’s role in the seat-sharing talks emerges at a time when her Lok Sabha debut from mother Sonia Gandhi’s former constituency Raibareli is being speculated.

Will both Priyanka, Akhilesh be present at Rahul’s Bharat jodo Nyay Yatra?

Priyanka Gandhi is likely to join Rahul Gandhi’s yatra on February 24 from Moradabad. When the yatra entered the state, Priyanka said she was hospitalised and hence was not present. Akhilesh Yadav too gave a caveat that he would join the yatra only after Congress seals the seat-sharing deal.

(With inputs from bureau)