Owaisi, Azaad announce alliance for UP polls; send message to Akhilesh

Owaisi and Chandrashekhar Azad are set to join hands ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, seeking to consolidate Dalit and minority votesNEW DELHI: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad on Thursday announced their alliance, Samajik Parivartan Morcha, for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, with Azad being the candidate for chief minister.The two leaders made the announcement at a joint press conference in Lucknow, bringing together their parties ahead of the state polls.Azad said the coalition was open to other parties, including the Samajwadi Party and Congress, if they wanted to contest the elections in support of the alliance to prevent the BJP from returning to power in Uttar Pradesh, PTI reported.Rejecting the description of the grouping as a "third front", Azad said it could become a political platform for deprived, oppressed and marginalised sections of society."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," he said.He said the alliance aimed to bring together weaker and deprived communities and help them use their electoral strength to gain political power and address their concerns.Invoking B R Ambedkar, Azad described political power as the "master key" to resolving people's problems. He argued that communities without their own political organisations could not effectively safeguard their interests, regardless of their population.Azad also cited Ambedkar's formation of political organisations, including the Scheduled Castes Federation, the Indian Labour Party and the Republican Party of India, saying he had recognised that existing political parties would not adequately represent marginalised communities.He further alleged that successive governments had failed to fulfil promises to bring deprived communities into the mainstream, tackle poverty and prevent atrocities against them.While AIMIM has a limited electoral presence in Uttar Pradesh, Owaisi has influence among sections of the minority community. Azad has been seeking to expand his support base among young Dalit voters.Owaisi said that if he and his supporters had to die while fighting for the cause of the people, it would be a worthwhile sacrifice.Taking a swipe at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Owaisi said he would not become the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and accused him of practising the politics of entitlement.The development comes after Owaisi's attempt to join the INDIA bloc's seat-sharing arrangement in Uttar Pradesh failed to materialise. The AIMIM chief had set an October 2 deadline for the Samajwadi Party and Congress to respond to his proposal, but neither party agreed to include him in the alliance.While AIMIM has a limited electoral presence in Uttar Pradesh, Owaisi has influence among sections of the minority community. Azad, meanwhile, has been seeking to expand his support base among young Dalit voters.