Samajwadi Party vice-president Kiranmoy Nanda (left) shakes hand with Congress state president Raj Babbar (right) in Lucknow on Sunday. After months of talks and bargaining, Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Samajwadi Party and the Congress on Sunday announced an alliance for the upcoming assembly elections. While the SP will contest 298 seats, the Congress party will fight in 105 of the 403 assembly constituencies in the Uttar Pradesh (UP) elections next month. The long-standing grudge battle between the two men is fast becoming one of the biggest hurdles for the BJP ahead of assembly elections due in 2018. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh announced the programmes at a press conference after a two-day workers’ conference ended here today.

Source: Mint January 23, 2017 05:35 UTC