"He Was Scared": Samajwadi Party MP On Rahul Gandhi's 2024 Raebareli Contest

Samajwadi Party MP from Pratapgarh Shiv Pal Singh Patel on Saturday claimed that without an alliance with his party, the Congress would not have won a single seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

He also claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was "ready to give up" his seat at one point, and he contested from the Raebareli seat only after a "reassurance" from Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

Speaking to PTI Videos, Patel said, "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.

"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.

Patel said the Samajwadi Party gave all support to the Congress.

"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.

"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 electoral graph of the Congress -- the grand old party of India -- had been in constant decline since 1989, when it last held power in Uttar Pradesh.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Samajwadi Party won 37 seats in Uttar Pradesh -- including the prestigious Faizabad parliamentary constituency, of which the temple town of Ayodhya is an integral part -- while its ally Congress won six seats. The BJP's tally was restricted to 33 seats and the NDA's tally to 36 seats.

Currently, in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly, the Congress has two MLAs, while the Samajwadi Party has 101 MLAs.

When asked to comment on a caste-based equation worked out by the Congress in appointing a Brahmin as its state unit president and a Muslim as working president, Patel said, "This will not yield any benefit. Look, Dalits were with Mayawati, but they have now shifted to our side. They realised that there was no significant upliftment of Dalits during the Congress regime, and certainly none is happening under the BJP. Whereas, during the Samajwadi Party's tenure, everyone gets equal opportunities. Everyone gets an equal chance to progress; their children get a chance to receive an education."

He added, "That is precisely why the party was named 'Samajwadi'. Our party operates based on the ideals of (Ram Manohar) Lohia-ji. Our party's objective is the welfare of all sections of society."

Asked if the "sister" (Uttar Pradesh Congress president Aradhana Misra) demands a larger share of seats, what will the "brother" (Akhilesh Yadav) do, Patel said, "In Uttar Pradesh, we are the elder brother. In fact, a much elder brother. So, they should keep that reality in mind."

He said the Congress may have a different standing in other states, but wherever it has contested alone, it has lost ground.

"If we proceed with an alliance, we will certainly benefit. Even if it doesn't happen, we won't have any significant loss. But for them, the tally will drop to zero. I can say this with confidence: if they don't contest as part of an alliance, they will end up with zero seats. The public will realise they are fielding candidates solely to split votes. If they act as vote-spoilers, they will be reduced to zero," Patel said.

Reacting to Patel's comments, Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi told PTI, "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."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)