India, Oct. 22 -- LUCKNOW Setting clear boundaries ahead of the 2027 UP Assembly polls, the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Thursday pushed back against reports of the Congress eyeing a three-digit seat share in a pre-Diwali alliance pact, asserting that "winnability" will be the sole criterion for distributing tickets.

Taking strong exception to statements regarding seat numbers, senior SP leaders asked the Congress leadership to refrain from negotiating through the media and instead form a formal alliance committee to initiate primary-level discussions.

"Any kind of media statement regarding seat sharing is not in the interest of the alliance, and what individual leaders say or claim is of no importance to us," said former MLC and senior SP l...