Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are round the corner and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has teamed up with Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) president Chandrashekhar Azad to form a new political alliance called ‘Samajik Parivartan Morcha’. Both leaders announced their alliance in a joint press conference at Lucknow on Thursday, November 12.
The new alliance will combine the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and Azad Samaj Party to contest the Assembly elections. Owaisi also announced Azad as the Chief Ministerial face of his new alliance for the 2027 elections.
“We have formed an inclusive political alliance. We are ready to welcome any party, including Samajwadi Party and Congress in our alliance to stop the BJP from coming back to power in Uttar Pradesh,” Owaisi said during the press conference.
“On behalf of our party, I would like to state that we are committed to making this ‘Samajik Parivartan Morcha’ a success. It gives me great pleasure to announce that our brother, Chandrashekhar Azad, will be the Chief Ministerial candidate for the ‘Samajik Parivartan Morcha’ in Uttar Pradesh,” Owaisi said.
Both parties will collaborate to win from their alliance.
Chandrashekhar Azad Refutes ‘Third Front’
He denied the alliance being called a third front and said that it was an inclusive political alliance for the deprived, oppressed and marginalised sections.
“People have been calling it a third front, but it is not a third front. It is the Samajik Parivartan Morcha. If you understand its depth, you will realise that it is the first front,” Azad said.
Azad said that their aim was to unite the weaker and deprived sections of society and provide them with a voice.
“This is the master key to solve our problems. Without a political organisation we cannot defend our interests even if we are numerous,” he said referring to Dr BR Ambedkar.
Azad also mentioned how Dr Ambedkar created political organisations such as the Scheduled Castes Federation, Indian Labour Party and Republican Party of India to ensure that marginalised section were properly represented.
He also claimed that past governments have failed to deliver on their promises to bring deprived sections into the limelight, tackle poverty and stop atrocities.
Samajik Parivartan Morcha Could Fight From Around 150 Seats
The new alliance could fight from around 150 Assembly seats out of the total 403 in Uttar Pradesh. However, it has yet to be announced how both parties will split their seats.
The alliance hopes to unite the Dalit and Muslim communities as well as other weaker and marginalised sections of society.
According to population figures, Muslims make up around 19-20 percent of the population in Uttar Pradesh and Dalits make up around 21 percent. This means that around 40 percent of the population belong to these two communities.
AIMIM Slams Samajwadi Party Ahead Of 2027 Elections
Ahead of the alliance announcement, AIMIM’s Uttar Pradesh chief Shaukat Ali attacked the Samajwadi Party and its president Akhilesh Yadav.
Ali claimed that they had tried to create an alliance with both the Samajwadi Party and Congress but had been turned down. He claimed that they had made this decision due to their egos.
Ali also claimed that AIMIM will take on Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh similar to how they fought against RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in Bihar.
He also claimed that AIMIM will only give the Samajwadi Party chief 27 seats in the 2027 Assembly elections.
Will Owaisi-Azad Alliance Impact UP Politics?
The alliance between Owaisi and Chandrashekhar Azad creates another political group fighting in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
The alliance hopes to unite the Dalit and Muslim communities and could therefore have an impact on the politics of the Samajwadi Party led by Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led by Mayawati who have both targeted these sections for support.
The impact the alliance will have depends on how many seats they fight from, who they field as candidates, whether they gain support from other parties and how well they can turn their proposed coalition into votes.