On Thursday, a spokesman for the Samajwadi Party said that its INDIA group partner Congress had agreed to only run candidates in two of the 10 by-elections in Uttar Pradesh, leaving the other eight seats open for the SP. However, state Congress President Ajay Rai said, “We are not aware of this.”

“Our deal with the Congress is final.” The Congress will run for two of the 10 seats, in Khair (Aligarh) and Ghaziabad. The SP will run for the other eight seats, according to Rajendra Chowdhury, a spokesperson for the SP.

The PTI asked Congress state president Ajay Rai about this, but he said, “We are not aware of this.” We still want five places, as of right now. The SP has already put forward candidates for seven seats, including Meerapur, where Sumbhul Rana is running.

Ten assembly seats will be up for election: Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Milkipur (Ayodhya), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sisamau (Kanpur city), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj), and Kundarki (Moradabad).

Nine of these seats are empty now that their MLAs were voted as MPs in the Lok Sabha elections. In the Sisamau seat, by-elections are being held because SP MLA Irfan Solanki was found guilty of a crime and is no longer eligible to run.

But not in Milkipur. The Election Commission has called for elections in nine other seats. The voting places will be open on November 13.