LUCKNOW, Jan. 10 -- While Congress prepares to contest the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Panchayat polls independently, state unit incharge Avinash Pandey said on Friday that the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is welcome to join the INDIA bloc for future elections. "INDIA bloc has an understanding. The real motto is to uproot the BJP, and in this endeavour BSP will also be welcome," said Pandey, who chaired the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting attended by the party's present and former MPs, MLAs, and senior leaders. "We are focusing on all 403 Assembly seats, and our Sangathan Srijan programme is aligned with this goal. We aim to build a strong front against the BJP in the state and strengthen our own party so that, even within an alliance, we can contribute effectively," said Pandey, who is also a Congress general secretary. When asked about the status of the alliance with the Samajwadi Party if the BSP were to join hands with Congress, Pandey said that subjective talks with the SP have been ongoing even after the Lok Sabha elections. The Samajwadi Party and the Congress had contested the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in 2017 and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls together. Under the seat-sharing arrangements, Congress was allotted 105 of the 403 Assembly seats in 2017 and 17 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 general elections. As per the results, the SP-Congress alliance pushed the BJP to second position in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP's seat tally fell sharply from 62 of 80 in 2019 to 33 in 2024, while the SP won 37 seats and the Congress secured six of the 17 seats it contested. "Though the Assembly polls are still some time away, we are now going to train 2.75 lakh members selected through the Sangathan Srijan programme and test their on-ground management capabilities," Pandey said while outlining the party's plan for the next 100 days in the state. "We have planned 30 rallies titled 'Samvidhan Samvad', beginning from Sitapur district. Some of these rallies may be addressed by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, while Priyanka Gandhi may also participate in others to motivate party workers," Pandey said. "The Samvidhan Samvad will focus on people's issues, and work will be carried out on concerns related to SIR and changes in MNREGA-the Congress scheme that guaranteed the right to work-which is now being altered by the BJP," said Ajay Rai. Around three crore voters' names were deleted under the SIR, an issue discussed alongside concerns such as people going "missing" from voter lists-much like in films such as Laapata Ladies-and the dilution of the right to work through changes to MNREGA, as well as future strategy, said Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate after the meeting. She also said that law and order in Uttar Pradesh was in a poor state, alleging that even police personnel were involved in rape cases, and said the government must respond to these issues. The action plan for the next 100 days, discussed in the PAC meeting attended by state president Ajay Rai, MPs PL Punia and Tanuj Punia, Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhna Mishra, deputy leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari, former state president Ajay Kumar Lallu, UP Congress OBC department chairman Manoj Yadav, AICC spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, former general secretary (organisation) Anil Yadav, and other leaders, will focus on dialogue around employment and rights through the Save MNREGA Campaign....