LUCKNOW, Nov. 14 -- Seat-sharing negotiations between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections are set to begin on November 17, Congress's Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam announced on Saturday, giving a timeline to the much-anticipated negotiations within the INDIA bloc.

This was the Congress's first response after SP national president Akhilesh Yadav said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS) in New Delhi that the Congress had sought 181 seats for the 403-member UP assembly.

Gautam was addressing a press conference along with UP Congress president Aradhna Mishra in Lucknow.

Speculation over the seat-sharing formula has been continuing for nearly two months, with both...