AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi is open to an anti-BJP alliance for the 2027 UP elections, admitting past failures. Meanwhile, Congress leader Imran Masood has dismissed a tie-up, stating the need to fight "both kinds of communalisms".
AIMIM Open to Anti-BJP Alliance
Speaking to ANI during his visit to Uttar Pradesh, the Hyderabad MP acknowledged the party's past failures in the state while emphasising a re-energised grassroots campaign. Owaisi admitted that AIMIM's previous major assembly push in 2017 was unsuccessful but asserted that the party "contested the elections last time, in 2017, but we didn't succeed... We are putting our efforts even more. We have addressed our previous mistakes and weaknesses."With an eye on the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the AIMIM President said that state party leader Shaukat Ali and the local team have been deployed across the state to build the machinery required for the upcoming polls. "There are elections in UP in 2027, so our party leader, Shaukat Ali, and the entire team are working on preparations for that," he said.
Owaisi stated explicitly that he is willing to join an anti-BJP coalition to prevent a fracture of opposition votes.
Owaisi Rejects 'Vote-Splitter' Tag
Pushing back against recurring allegations that AIMIM splits secular votes to the BJP's advantage, Owaisi pointed out internal cross-voting within other opposition parties, notably referencing recent Rajya Sabha election defections from the Congress and RJD. "I went there and said that if an alliance is formed to prevent the BJP from coming to power again, I am ready... Our goal is to ensure that our party candidates who succeed there become MLAs. It is not a question of division. I said the same thing in Bihar, to ally with us. A letter was even written by our president, Akhtarul Iman. It was ignored, and you saw the outcome. In the Rajya Sabha elections, three Congress MLAs and one Muslim MLA from the RJD did not support them," said Owaisi.Owaisi strongly countered the narrative that his party acts as a spoiler for larger secular regional parties. He pointed out that mainstream opposition parties have historically ignored his coalition offers, often to their own detriment. "I am always accused of this happening when I contest. I am fine with you allying. Last time, we were in an alliance with Babu Singh Kushwaha, who is a Samajwadi Party MP from Jaunpur today," he said.
Congress Dismisses Alliance with AIMIM
Meanwhile, with the Uttar Pradesh elections due in February next year, Congress leader Imran Masood on Tuesday dismissed the possibility of an alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, saying that it was necessary to fight both kinds of "communalisms". "If we have to fight with communalism, then we will have to fight with both the communalisms. It cannot happen that you abuse one communalism and join hands with the other. We will have to fight with both," Masood told ANI.On the other hand, he emphasised the need for unity among opposition parties. He said that it was "time to fight unitedly", especially after the election results in West Bengal. Amid efforts to identify seats and seal the deal on seat-sharing between Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP), both INDIA bloc constituents, Masood said such decisions are made during an open dialogue. "I don't understand both asking and giving. It is decided by sitting at a table. After Bengal, now is not the time to think. It is time to fight unitedly. The party leadership will decide," he said.
Masood also maintained that Congress would not compromise its autonomy and would have full authority over its candidate selection process."We will decide the candidates for the Congress. No other party will tell us which candidates we should field," he said. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)