Owaisi, Chandrashekhar Azad join hands to challenge BJP in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Azad Samaj Party (ASP) leader Chandrashekhar Azad are joining hands to form a new alliance ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, aiming to challenge the BJP. The proposed alliance is planning to contest around 150 seats.

The move seeks to consolidate the crucial Dalit and Muslim vote banks in the state and emerge as a third political front. The two leaders have scheduled a joint press conference in Lucknow to formally announce the alliance and clarify further details, including seat-sharing arrangements.

Owaisi had earlier expressed willingness to join hands with the INDIA bloc, comprising the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress, to take on the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. However, after the opposition parties failed to respond favourably to the proposal, Owaisi decided to explore an alliance with Chandrashekhar Azad.

AIMIM state president Shaukat Ali said that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led by Mayawati, which has a strong support base among Dalits, had also failed to respond positively to the alliance proposal.

He said the party had wanted to build a strong coalition to prevent the BJP from returning to power for a third consecutive term, alleging that Muslims had suffered the most under the BJP government.

"Which dream world is Akhilesh Yadav living in? In the 2017 Assembly elections, the SP contested in alliance with the Congress. The result will be the same this time too," Shaukat Ali said, taking a dig at the Samajwadi Party chief.

He cited the 2025 Bihar Assembly election results to support his criticism, recalling that the BJP-JD(U)-led NDA retained power after the RJD and Congress declined to form an alliance with Owaisi's AIMIM.

Meanwhile, Azad, the Lok Sabha MP from Nagina and chief of the Azad Samaj Party, said the alliance with AIMIM would work towards empowering young people, farmers and marginalised communities.

He said both parties shared the objective of bringing backward communities into the mainstream.

"Problems such as vote theft are before us. We are still facing the consequences of demonetisation, but the biggest concern is the declining number of government jobs. Despite holding degrees, educated youths from Dalit and backward communities are struggling to find employment," Azad said.

Asked about the proposed alliance, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav responded that the people of Uttar Pradesh had already made up their minds in favour of the Samajwadi Party.