Owaisi and Azad Form Alliance for Uttar Pradesh Elections

Asaduddin Owaisi, president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), and Chandrashekhar Azad, chief of the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), are announcing a political alliance in Lucknow on November 12, 2026. The partnership seeks to create a third-front alternative for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections by uniting Dalit and Muslim communities, who together represent approximately 40 to 41 percent of the state's population.

The alliance emerges after the Samajwadi Party and Congress showed no interest in Owaisi's previous offers to join the INDIA bloc. While the specific number of contested seats remains unclear, the pact aims to empower youth, farmers, and marginalized communities. Azad has centered his campaign on criticizing the Bharatiya Janata Party for unemployment, governance failures, and the impact of demonetization.

Reacting to the development, Congress MP Imran Masood stated that parties are free to form alliances and that Congress will decide its own course. Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ashutosh Verma noted that while the party is aware of the pact, it remains focused on its goal of forming the government as the principal opposition party.