No impact on INDIA alliance prospects in view of AIMIM-ASP pact, says Congress-SP

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) National President Asaduddin Owaisi addresses a joint press conference with Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) National President and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad, announcing their alliance ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, in Lucknow on Thursday, November 12, 2026. | Photo Credit: ANI The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress on Friday (November 13, 2026) said the alliance of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi and Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) will have no impact on voters from social groups facing injustice under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh. They added voters are aware that only INDIA alliance comprising of the SP-Congress is capable in defeating the BJP decisively. “Even before the announcement of AIMIM-ASP (KR) alliance, people were expecting that the BJP will try to divide the votes of Dalits, Muslims, backwards and progressive sections of society. But we believe people are fully aware that what is real end game of any such front. People across sections of the society are fully behind the INDIA alliance, and are waiting for assembly polls to defeat the anti-people BJP government,” said Shahnawaz Alam, National Secretary, Congress. The SP said Dalits and Muslims at the ground level remain cautious about the sudden, unnatural alliance. “The alliance of AIMIM and ASP (KR) has formed the Samajik Parivartan Morcha (Front for Social Change) to attract anti-incumbency votes from the BJP government, primarily among Scheduled Castes and Muslims. The Samajwadi Party welcomes any effort to expose communal forces that use false promises to attract voters, particularly Dalits. While the front might shift 2% to 3% of the vote away from the BJP—potentially benefiting the INDIA alliance—Dalits and Muslims at the ground level remain cautious about the intent and viability of this sudden, unnatural alliance. Although Dalits and Muslims are part of the Samajwadi Party’s socio-political platform (PDA), there is limited cohesion on the ground. Ultimately, this arrangement is unlikely to alter the election prospects of the INDIA alliance,” said Sudhir Panwar, a senior SP leader. On November 12, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi and Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief Chandrashekhar Azad announced a political alliance for the 2027 state Assembly elections, a first declared non-National Democratic Alliance (NDA), non-INDIA bloc political front in Uttar Pradesh, with both parties considered marginal players eyeing to consolidate Scheduled Caste (SC) and minority voters in the politically crucial state. The alliance, Samajik Parivartan Morcha, for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, named Mr. Azad as the candidate for Chief Minister. Published - November 13, 2026 09:23 pm IST