LUCKNOW: The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will repeat its alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) in UP for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The NCP had contested the Anupshahr assembly seat (in Bulandshahr) in alliance with SP in the 2022 assembly elections. The party’s UP in-charge and national general secretary, KK Sharma, had contested from Anupshahr seat on the NCP symbol but lost.
Undeterred by the loss, NCP has decided to keep the alliance for the Lok Sabha elections.
“We will go with the Samajwadi Party for the same reason that we had in the 2022 UP assembly elections, which is that SP is the main opposition party in UP. NCP will appeal to even Congress and BSP to come together with us to check BJP from coming to power,” said NCP national general secretary and UP in-charge KK Sharma.
The party had no alliance in UP in the 2012 and 2017 assembly polls that it had contested solo.
In July last, the party reorganised its UP unit and constituted a 73-member state executive committee, comprising state president, 22 vice-presidents, 24 general secretaries, 11 secretaries and 15 members.
The members were drawn from all the regions of UP, most of them from Purvanchal. Now, the party is mulling to appoint a new state president. It also launched a membership drive last year to expand its presence in the state.
The party had also decided to contest the UP urban local body polls before it got delayed.