The Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Wednesday held the second round of seat-sharing talks in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections but no final decision was made, even as both sides expressed confidence of reaching a “fruitful” agreement soon.

The discussions that lasted for two hours were held at the residence of Congress leader Mukul Wasnik, who is also the convener of the party’s seat-sharing committee, and attended by senior leaders from both allies in the opposition INDIA bloc.

For the Congress, former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, senior leader Salman Khurshid and Mohan Prakash besides UP party chief Ajay Rai took part in the talks, while the Samajwadi Party (SP) was represented by party national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, Rajya Sabha member Javed Ali Khan and former legislator Udaiveer Singh.

Khurshid, who spoke to reporters after the meeting, said there are “clear signs of a rainbow” and added that both sides put across their “wish lists” that yielded a “good and productive” conversation.

“We held talks with the Samajwadi Party and our tie-up will happen with them. We explained to each other everything in detail and understood the other side too,” he said. “We cannot tell anything on numbers till a final decision is taken. However, we held a very good discussion today and I am hopeful of a very good alliance in Uttar Pradesh.”

The senior leader said that details of each seat in Uttar Pradesh, which sends the highest 80 members to the Lok Sabha in the country, were shared by both sides during the meeting.

“We are hopeful that we will receive their suggestions and then we will finalise our plans. We will decide on which seats we will contest. We have put forth details of seats that each one of us wants to contest,” he added.

Senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav also sounded enthusiastic after the meeting. “We have covered half the distance (of seat-sharing talks) and the remaining half will be covered soon,” he told reporters.

When asked if former chief minister Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will be taken on board, Yadav said: “So far, we are talking to the Congress and the Congress is talking to us.”

Earlier this week, Mayawati announced that her party will not join either the INDIA bloc or the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the upcoming general elections.

A senior SP leader aware of details said both parties held talks on seat by seat. “The INDIA bloc will contest all the 80 UP seats. The Congress placed its arguments on the seats it wants to contest, and similarly, the SP team put forth its arguments for the seats it wants to contest. Congress is not opposed to most of the seats the SP is claiming,” the leader said, requesting anonymity. “But there are some seats where the claims are overlapping. The next meeting will be held soon to sort out those.”

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who was on a person visit to Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, expressed confidence there would not be any glitches in seat-sharing talks among the constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc.

“I am confident that the sharing of seats will be proper. The Samajwadi Party, Congress and our allies together will defeat the BJP in Uttar Pradesh,” Yadav told reporters. He also put behind the feud between his party and the Congress in the run-up to the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls, saying it was a thing of the past.

Former Union minister Khurshid also said the two parties hope to “zero in on all seats” in the third meeting, which will be held soon. “The third round of meeting will primarily focus on ascertaining which party expresses a preference for contesting specific seats and identifying seats where a united front can be established,” he said.

On a question of another INDIA constituent Rashtriya Lok Dal’s share of seats, Khurshid said the SP will deliberate with the RLD, adding it does not warrant Congress’s involvement.