Speaking to ANI, Gautam said, “Who asked for 150 seats? I had actually spoken about 200. I have maintained from the very beginning that there must be equal respect and an equal share. After all, the Congress party is the country’s oldest and largest party.”
He said the party was already preparing for the elections and was gearing up its organisation across all 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh.
“We can only win if we get seats. We can only win if we contest the election. Does anyone ever win without fighting elections?…” he said.
Gautam said the organisational structure, including district and city units, was most likely to be finalised by Thursday. He said his aim was to have the state-level body announced on the same day or within a couple of days thereafter.
“The Congress is already moving ahead with preparations; the party is gearing up its entire organisation across all 403 seats. Most likely, the organisational structure-including district and city units-will be finalised by Thursday. My aim is to have the state-level body announced either on the same day or within a couple of days thereafter,” he said.
He added that work on the organisation at the grassroots level was nearly complete and the party had established a presence in every village.Earlier, Gautam said the Congress and SP, the two main INDIA bloc parties in UP, should ensure equal respect and representation.
“All the parties with whom we have an alliance in the INDIA bloc are responsible. In Uttar Pradesh, the two main parties are Congress and the Samajwadi Party. Both are responsible; they also respect each other. We have to move forward together… The share and respect should be equal. I have been saying this from the beginning… When it comes to seat sharing, we are as flexible as the Constitution of India. If we have to bend a little, we will bend,” he said.
He said that the Congress is flexible in negotiations and wanted the arrangement to be finalised early so that candidates get sufficient time to prepare for the elections.
“Today, I want to make it clear that the Congress Party is the oldest and largest party in the country… Regarding seat sharing, I have been saying from the beginning that we should settle the matter of seat sharing in October itself so that those contesting the elections get time to work,” he said.
