AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi and Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) chief Chandrashekhar Azad are expected to hold a joint press conference in Lucknow on Thursday to announce a pact between their two parties for the upcoming 2027 Uttar Pradesh elections, party leaders indicated.
The two-party alliance, in the making, could well be the much-talked-about non-BJP, non-Congress third front as both AIMIM and Azad Samaj Party look at the nearly 41 per cent Dalit and minority vote bank in the most populous state where the BJP is eyeing a record hat-trick, a prospect that the opposition Samajwadi Party is desperate to break.
The nature of the pact is yet to be revealed but AIMIM spokesperson Shadab Chauhan confirmed that the Azad Samaj Party, headed by Nagina MP Azad, and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) led by Owaisi, will join hands.
"The nature of the pact and other details will be revealed on Thursday during the press conference to be addressed by AIMIM and Bhim Army leadership," Shadab told PTI on the phone.
Azad and Owaisi separately arrived in Lucknow ahead of the Thursday event though they did not reveal the details of their alliance or the joint presser expected at a Gomtinagar hotel in the state capital on Thursday afternoon.
"Whatever it is will be revealed before you," Azad said to queries on his party's alliance with the AIMIM, adding that their effort was to strengthen youth, farmers, weak and the marginalised.
"Will answer all your queries tomorrow," Azad said to persistent queries, adding that all that is required to ensure the rights of the poor are not trampled will be done.
It is still unclear how many seats the two parties plan to contest in the state with 403 seats. It is equally unclear if some other smaller parties could also be a part of the alliance.
The development comes after the main INDIA bloc parties in UP -- the Samajwadi Party and the Congress -- showed no interest in Owaisi's offer to include him in their seat-sharing pact for the UP polls.
A miffed Owaisi, whose October 2 deadline to the SP and the Congress to decide on his inclusion in the INDIA bloc did not find any takers, is now set to float a loose third front of sorts along with Azad's party in the UP polls ostensibly to target minorities and Dalits, the two key vote banks who along with OBCs hold the key to power in UP.
While Owaisi may not have much electoral presence in UP, he does command influence in a section of the minority community, even as Azad's growing influence among young Dalit voters is potentially a cause of worry for both the BJP-led NDA and the SP-Congress-led INDIA bloc alliance in UP.
(With inputs from PTI)
