Akhilesh Yadav after skipping Rahul Gandhi's Yatra: All's well that ends well

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav today dismissed speculation of a strain in ties with the Congress, while saying that the alliance with the party was on in Uttar Pradesh and there was no dispute with Rahul Gandhi.

"All is well that ends well...there is no dispute...there will be an alliance," Akhilesh Yadav said when asked about his absence from Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' in Amethi and Rae Bareli.

Earlier this week, Akhilesh Yadav had said he would join Rahul Gandhi's yatra only after seat sharing was finalised.

The state units of both parties are likely to hold a joint press conference soon to formally announce the alliance.

Sources said the Samajwadi Party has agreed to give 17–19 seats to the Congress in Uttar Pradesh as part of their seat-sharing agreement. The state has 80 Lok Sabha constituencies.

As per the latest arrangement, Congress has been given the Sitapur seat instead of Hathras. The Congress had initially submitted a list of 28 seats it wanted to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

The development comes even as the Samajwadi Party sprung a surprise on the Congress by unilaterally declaring candidates for 31 seats.

On Tuesday, the Samajwadi Party declared five candidates, fielding senior leader Shivpal Yadav from Budaun parliamentary constituency. Shivpal Yadav is the uncle of Akhilesh Yadav.

The party also fielded Surendra Singh Patel from Varanasi, the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iqra Hasan from Kairana, Praveen Singh Aron from Bareilly and Ajendra Singh Rajput from Hamirpur.

On Monday, the party declared 11 candidates, including don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's brother and BSP MP Afzal Ansari.

On January 30, the Samajwadi Party announced its first list of candidates for 16 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.