‘In UP, there was public anger over jobs, price rise and farm issues… PM tried to divert attention, but we kept our focus on them’: AICC in-charge

Seven thousand kilometres, 40 days, 80 constituencies, 133 public meetings. This is what All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh Avinash Pande clocked in the state in the course of his campaign for his party in the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls. He was also at the forefront of the Congress leaders who made all efforts to make the Opposition INDIA alliance work at the grassroots level, holding many meetings with the ally Samajwadi Party (SP) in this regard.

On his first visit to UP after the poll results – in which the INDIA bloc got the better of the ruling BJP-led NDA – to hold an organisational meeting at the Congress office in Lucknow, Pande spoke to The Indian Express about a range of issues related to the polls as well as his party’s future plans in the crucial heartland state. Excerpts from the interview:

* What is the future of the Congress-SP alliance in UP?

We felicitated Akhilesh Yadav ji for the successful alliance that contested the election based on issues. We expressed gratitude and assured him that we are going to keep the issue-based alliance alive in the future with a level of coordination and understanding that is similar to the way we coordinated in this election. And not just here. Overall, the aim of the Congress was to strengthen the alliance rather than focus on the number of seats, so that we can contest as one force in future.

* You mentioned starting preparations for UP local body polls and 2027 Assembly elections. Will you contest them as allies as well?

It is too early to say. Right now, our focus will be on strengthening the organisation. You will see Congress and SP coordinate better on the ground to raise public issues. The main motive of the Congress was