LUCKNOW, July 3 -- Newly appointed Uttar Pradesh Congress in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam on Thursday said the INDIA bloc leadership would soon begin discussions on seat sharing for the 2027 assembly elections, adding that the Congress expected equality and respect in the alliance. "In a month, our organisational committees and a public manifesto will be ready. Soon after that, the top alliance leadership will sit together to discuss seat sharing for the Uttar Pradesh elections. We want equality and respect in the alliance, which is the least we will settle for," Gautam said after attending a political affairs committee meeting with UP Congress president Ajay Rai, Amethi MP Kishori Lal Sharma, Barabanki MP Tanuj Punia and national secretary Dheeraj Gurjar. On his first visit to Uttar Pradesh after being appointed the party's state in-charge, Gautam expressed confidence that the alliance would defeat the BJP in the 2027 assembly elections and then at the Centre in 2029. "The BJP has captured democracy. Supreme Court judges are under pressure. The Election Commission is working for the BJP, and the SIT is doing exactly what it is told to do. The BJP does not even spare offerings made to God," he alleged. The Congress is keen on avoiding a repeat of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when seat-sharing arrangements within the INDIA bloc were finalised only on February 22, less than two months before the first phase of polling on April 19. Party leaders believe an early agreement would provide candidates sufficient time to campaign at the grassroots. The Congress had contested 17 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2024 and won six. Party sources said efforts were being made to finalise seat sharing by the end of September, although no formal deadline had been set as the matter would ultimately be decided by the alliance leadership. "Finalising seat sharing well before the elections will give candidates ample time to campaign," Congress spokesperson Puneet Pathak said. Targeting the BJP, Gautam said punishing criminals was the judiciary's responsibility and accused the state government of bypassing due process through encounters and bulldozer action. "If someone is a criminal, they should be taken into custody first. However, in BJP-ruled states, police conduct encounter openly. The BJP's bulldozer runs over the homes of the poor, the backward classes, and Muslims," he alleged. Asked about his visit to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati's residence in May, Gautam said, "I went to meet her. It was a courtesy call." Replying to a query regarding association with BSP in 2027, he said, "All those who work for the Constitution are welcome."...