After firming up their pre-poll alliance in three states, Samajwadi Party and BSP are in talks to expand their alliance beyond Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, said a Samajwadi Party leader.
“We are planning to contest elections in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Chhattisgarh,” Samajwadi Party leader Rajesh Dixit told Financial Express Online.
The party may also field candidates in Rajasthan and Haryana.
“As of today we have announced our alliance with BSP for three states and we are exploring the possibility of expanding the alliance to Chhattisgarh as well,” said Rajesh Dixit, adding that the party will only field candidates in those states where it has possibility of winning some seats.
SP-BSP have announced seat sharing details for Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh on Monday. Samajwadi Party will contest one seat Gadhwal (Pauri) in Uttarakhand and BSP will contest in rest of seats in the hilly state ruled by BJP.
Similarly, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party will contest in just three seats (Balaghat, Tikamgarh and Khajuraho) in Madhya Pradesh leaving the rest of the Lok Sabha seats for Mayawati led BSP.
The two regional parties have already announced their seat sharing agreement for Uttar Pradesh last week. Under the revised formula, the alliance has left five seats for other parties, including two traditional seats (Amethi and Rai Bareilli) for Gandhi family.
Under the revised formula, Jat leader Ajit Singh’s party Rashtriya Lok Dal will contest three seats in Uttar Pradesh.