Can a Brahmin-Muslim alliance help Congress rebuild in Uttar Pradesh?

The Congress party is turning back the clock in Uttar Pradesh, betting on a revived Brahmin-Muslim alliance to rescue it from decades of political irrelevance in India’s most politically influential state.

With the appointment of Aradhana Misra, a prominent Brahmin leader, as the new state president alongside influential Muslim figures like Imran Masood, the party is attempting to rebuild the core social coalition that once made it the dominant force in Uttar Pradesh.

But this attempt to assert itself is already running into a wall of resistance from its main ally. As Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) prepare for seat-sharing talks ahead of the 2027 assembly elections, the limits of their partnership are being laid bare.

The battle over seats

Rajendra Pal Gautam, the Congress leader in charge of Uttar Pradesh, recently declared that the party would not settle for fewer than 150 of the state’s 403 assembly seats. The response from the Samajwadi Party was swift and dismissive.

"Even giving them 50 seats would be a big deal," said Shiv Pal Singh Patel, a Samajwadi Party MP representing Pratapgarh in the Lok Sabha.

Patel pointed out that when Congress contested all 403 seats in the 2022 state elections, it won just two. He argued that Congress only managed to win its six Lok Sabha seats in the state during the 2024 national elections because of its alliance with the SP, which won 37. He even claimed that Rahul Gandhi was initially "afraid" to contest from Rae Bareli and only filed his nomination after Akhilesh Yadav threatened to field his own candidate instead.

New faces and old rivalries

Despite the public posturing from its ally, Congress is pressing ahead with its rebuilding efforts. The party is trying to position itself as a credible home for voters who are uneasy with both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party's Yadav-centric leadership.

To build momentum, Congress has been welcoming new recruits. On Saturday, former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar joined the party at its headquarters in Delhi. She was accompanied by former Uttar Pradesh MLA Shyam Sunder Sharma and former journalist Rajat Rakesh Tandon.

Kakkar, who accused AAP of abandoning its anti-corruption ideals for "choppers, bungalows, and cars," praised Rahul Gandhi as an "authentic" leader who does not "shed tears for the cameras." She also backed Gandhi's campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that concerns over electoral rolls must be taken directly to the public.

Friction on the opposition benches

These national political rivalries are complicating local alliances. Congress leaders recently clashed with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), an activist group that has been leading protests in Mumbai demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner over alleged electoral roll irregularities.

When CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka took to social media to mock "self-declared liberals" and "thekedars [custodians] of the constitution," Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh hit back. He accused the group of being a front for AAP, claiming CJP leaders had previously refused help from Congress in Assam "under direct instructions of Arvind Kejriwal."

For Congress, these battles are all part of a larger push to establish itself as the sole serious challenger to the BJP. In Uttar Pradesh, that means proving it can pull its own weight. Whether a Brahmin-Muslim ticket under Aradhana Misra can actually win back voters who long ago migrated to other parties remains to be seen—but Congress is running out of time to convince its allies that it is worth the space on the ballot.