Amid talks of an alliance for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Samajwadi Party MP from Pratapgarh Shiv Pal Singh Patel claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was 'so sacred' that he left Amethi to contest Raebareli.
While speaking to news agency PTI, Singh said Congress would not have won a single seat had it not been in alliance with the Samajwadi Party in the 2024 general elections.
"Had there been no alliance (with the Samajwadi Party), they (Congress) wouldn't have won a single seat. It even reached a point where their top leader Rahul Gandhi was ready to give up his seat. He contested from elsewhere (Raebareli) instead of Amethi. He was so scared.
He added that Gandhi fought the election only after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav reassured him and asked him to fight, warning that SP would pit a candidate if he didn't.
"It was our national president who reassured and persuaded him, asking him to contest and warning that if he didn't, he (Akhilesh) would field his own candidate. Only then did Gandhi agree to contest. Otherwise, he was extremely reluctant to run for that traditional seat, the one said to belong to the Nehru family. Gandhi only managed to win it because of that persuasion," he said.
ALSO READ: Congress Overhauls UP Unit: Aradhana Misra Mona Named State Chief, Imran Masood Working President
"Every single vote from the Samajwadi Party went to the Congress wherever they were allotted seats. That is precisely how they managed to win those six seats," he said.
Congress rebukes Patel
Congress has been pushing for at least 150 seats out of a total 403 while the Samajwadi Party has reportedly made an offer of 50 seats. At present, Congress has only two MLAs in the UP Assembly. SP, on the other hand, has 101 seats.
Reacting to Patel's comments, Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi slammed Patel, asking the SP to rein in its leaders and asserted that it was rather because of the INDIA bloc that Patel is an MP.
"The Samajwadi Party must work to rein in leaders who make such statements. It is because of the INDIA bloc that he (Patel) has become an MP. He should know his limits and avoid making statements like these."
"We secured 37 seats. We are far ahead of the Congress in every respect. They shouldn't ask for more than 50, and should feel happy. The Congress should cooperate, rather than making all sorts of absurd or negative remarks," Patel said.
The bold claim comes as Congress and SP are engaged in seat-sharing talks for the UP Polls.