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Imran Masood Appointment Raises Unease in Congress-SP Ties
Congress has given Imran Masood a senior job in its Uttar Pradesh party organization.
The party is preparing for state elections expected in February 2027.
Some Samajwadi Party leaders worry that Masood’s appointment is meant to push the SP to agree to seat-sharing sooner and give Congress more seats.
The SP’s spokesperson says the appointment will not hurt talks, though other SP leaders have voiced concerns.
Saharanpur may be a point of disagreement because both parties have expressed interest in seats there.
Masood has urged the SP to finalize an alliance, and Congress leaders say he has been told to stop attacking the SP.
The two parties are allies, but their final seat-sharing arrangement remains unsettled.
Congress appointed Saharanpur MP Imran Masood as working president of its Uttar Pradesh unit ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
Some Samajwadi Party leaders view the appointment and Masood’s comments as pressure to settle seat-sharing early and allocate more seats to Congress.
SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said the appointment would not adversely affect seat-sharing talks; other party leaders expressed private concern.
Saharanpur is a potential flashpoint: Masood has said Congress will contest the five seats it fought there in 2017, while an SP leader said the party would seek all seats in the constituency.
Masood has moved between Congress, SP and BSP; he returned to Congress after the BSP expelled him in 2023 and won a Lok Sabha seat in 2024 with SP support.
- Who
- Congress, Samajwadi Party and Imran Masood
- What
- Masood’s appointment as working president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress unit has prompted concern among some SP leaders about alliance talks and seat-sharing.
- Where
- Uttar Pradesh, particularly the Saharanpur area.
- When
- Ahead of Uttar Pradesh’s Assembly elections, due in February 2027; Masood made the cited remarks on September 21, with the year unspecified in the article.
- Why
- Some SP leaders interpret the appointment and Masood’s calls for an early alliance decision as an effort to press for more Congress seats and compete for Muslim voters.
SP Leaders’ Concerns
Responses and Congress Position
Effect of Masood’s appointment
SP Leaders’ Concerns
Some SP leaders see it as a Congress pressure tactic to secure more seats and strengthen its position in alliance negotiations.
Responses and Congress Position
SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said it would not adversely affect seat-sharing talks; a Congress leader said the leadership hopes relations will settle and has directed Masood to avoid further attacks on the SP.
Timing of alliance talks
SP Leaders’ Concerns
Some SP leaders object to Masood publicly demanding that the alliance be finalized quickly and question whether he has authority in negotiations.
Responses and Congress Position
Masood has argued that the alliance should be finalized immediately and said Congress will prepare to contest on its own if it is not.
Saharanpur seats
SP Leaders’ Concerns
An SP leader from western Uttar Pradesh said the SP would demand all Assembly seats under the Saharanpur Lok Sabha constituency.
Responses and Congress Position
Masood said Congress would fight the five Saharanpur seats it contested in 2017, calling the district a party stronghold.
Key facts
- Congress appointment
- Imran Masood was appointed working president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress unit.
- Upcoming election
- Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are due in February 2027.
- SP public position
- Spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said the appointment would have no adverse impact on seat-sharing talks.
- Saharanpur claim
- Masood said Congress would contest the five Saharanpur seats it contested in 2017.
- Masood's age
- He is 56.
- Party history
- He joined the SP before the 2022 Assembly polls, left it in October 2022, joined the BSP, was expelled in August 2023, and later returned to Congress.
- 2024 election
- Masood became a Congress MP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls with SP support, according to a Congress leader quoted in the article.
Quotes
An SP insider
An unnamed Samajwadi Party source commenting on Congress’s Uttar Pradesh leadership appointments.
“I don’t understand what is in the mind of the top Congress leadership.”
indianexpress.com
Imran Masood
Congress MP from Saharanpur and working president of the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit.
“Finalise the alliance if you have to have an alliance. If it (the alliance) is not to be done, we (Congress) are going ahead with our preparations. Akhilesh ji should finish this work (alliance finalisation) immediately. If you have to lead, the responsibility is on you. Dil bhi aapko bada karna padega (You will have to have a large heart).”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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