Under the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) in Uttar Pradesh, parties are equal partners, and there are no smaller or larger partners, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai said on Saturday (May 9, 2026). “We are in an alliance and will unitedly defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),” Mr. Rai told The Hindu.

“Any decision on behalf of the Congress will be taken by the high command. The Congress party is strengthening its organisation at the booth level in all 403 Assembly seats to defeat the BJP,” Mr. Rai said, when asked whether “equal partners” meant the demand for equal sharing of seats during the Assembly election. 

Mr. Rai’s comment holds significance as Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav, on Friday (May 8), made a cryptic post on social media platform X. “We are not the ones who leave you in difficult times,” Mr. Yadav said, along with a picture of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and outgoing Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. The Congress-DMK alliance came to an end after Assembly election in Tamil Nadu. 

The SP is the largest constituent of the INDIA bloc in Uttar Pradesh and will act as the fulcrum to defeat the BJP in U.P., Sunil Singh Yadav ‘Sajan’, the SP spokesperson said, adding that broader clarity prevails between the leadership of both parties on how, and what, was needed to defeat the BJP in U.P.

“Both Rahul Gandhi-ji and Akhilesh Yadav-ji have joint clarity on how winning each seat is necessary to defeat the BJP. The question is not about smaller or larger partner, the issue is which party is capable of defeating the BJP on a particular seat. The fact is that with 37 MPs and over 100 MLAs, the SP’s strength is tested and trusted. Unitedly with our partners, we will defeat the BJP,” Mr. Sajan said.