Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav indicated on Saturday that the Congress has expressed its wish to contest 181 seats in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, while asserting that the INDIA bloc would remain united to defeat the ruling BJP in the state.

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Asked at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in Delhi whether the Congress is seeking to contest 100 seats, Yadav said the party has demanded more than that. Asked if the demand was of 200 seats, he replied, "A little less than that." When the interviewer suggested 180 seats, Yadav said, "Add one more," indicating that the Congress has sought 181 seats from the SP.

"We have made up our mind on how many seats we will contest. The Samajwadi Party and the INDIA alliance will defeat the BJP together," he said, adding that the "theft" of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya will be a major poll issue.

The Uttar Pradesh Assembly has 403 seats.

Asked if he is considering an alliance with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, Yadav said he does not think of other alliances while being part of an existing one.

He said the SP has a good experience of forging alliances and has brought together people who believe in the principles of B R Ambedkar.

"The INDIA alliance with the Congress is the same alliance that we had earlier. I do not see any change in it," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.

The BSP is not a part of the INDIA opposition bloc.

On his proposed visit to the Ram temple, Yadav said he would first visit the Kedareshwar Dham in Etawah and then seek the blessings of Lord Ram.

He said SP leaders have arranged an invitation for him after consulting prominent people and fixing an auspicious date.

A senior SP leader had earlier claimed that Yadav will visit Ayodhya on December 12.

"I will have darshan first and then seek blessings," Yadav said.

He said he wants to thank the people of Faizabad, which includes Ayodhya, for their support to the SP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

SP's Awadesh Prasad won the Ayodhya Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 election.

"The people of Ayodhya and the sensible voters of Uttar Pradesh ended the BJP's communal politics at the very place from where it had started. They have given a message that change is coming," he said.

Yadav accused the BJP of failing to protect the religious sentiments of devotees by allowing a "theft" of offerings made at the Ram temple.

"Crores of devotees donated money and offerings out of their faith. That money was stolen. Our chief minister (Yogi Adityanath) was setting a world record by visiting Ayodhya, but he did not know that offerings were being stolen there," he said.

On the possibility of a shift among the BSP's traditional voters, Yadav said people from the Bahujan community, Ambedkarite groups and those committed to protecting the Constitution and democracy are coming together under the "PDA" (backward communities, Dalits and minorities) umbrella.

He claimed that the declining support for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh was reflected in its losses in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Yadav rejected suggestions that the 2024 Lok Sabha poll verdict was merely a message to the Centre and that voters could again back the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh election.

He said the verdict was against injustice, discrimination, unemployment and the failure to fulfil promises on investments and jobs.

Targeting the Uttar Pradesh government, he alleged that more than 20 competitive examination papers have been leaked in the state. The former chief minister also raised the issue of 69,000 assistant teachers' recruitment, alleging that candidates are being denied their reservation rights.

He accused the government of challenging court verdicts in cases involving recruitment and reservation.

He also criticised the Agniveer recruitment scheme in the armed forces, saying it has adversely affected employment opportunities for youngsters in Uttar Pradesh, which has traditionally supplied a large number of recruits to the armed forces.

On the law-and-order front, Yadav alleged that fake encounters and police excesses have led to deaths in Uttar Pradesh and accused the BJP-led state government of failing to address concerns raised by courts.

The SP chief also accused the government of corruption in infrastructure projects and cited the condition of expressways.

He accused the BJP of discriminating against Uttar Pradesh and failing to deliver on its promises of investment, employment and development.

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