Lucknow, Nov 12 AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday named Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) president Chandrashekhar Aazad as the chief ministerial face of the newly formed Samajik Parivartan Morcha for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
He also launched a sharp attack on Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, accusing him of practising “entitlement politics” and keeping the marginalised communities confined to vote-bank politics.
He also said Yadav will forever remain an “ex-chief minister”, stressing that Samajik Parivartan Morcha (SPM) had the “political and intellectual honesty” to stop the victory run of BJP-RSS in Uttar Pradesh.
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow with Aazad, Owaisi said the AIMIM-ASP (Kanshiram) alliance would seek to prevent the BJP from returning to power for a third consecutive term.
The alliance would focus on issues concerning backward and Dalit communities, the oppressed and marginalised sections, irrespective of their caste, he said.
“I am happy to announce that our brother Chandrashekhar Aazad will be the chief president of the SPM and its chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
Responding to a question on his earlier remark that “Abdul will no longer lay carpets”, Owaisi said Muslims have now become part of the political discourse, with the demand shifting towards equality, participation and independent leadership. Muslims should not remain politically marginalised, he argued.
Targeting parties that had contested successive elections against the BJP, Owaisi said, “Voters had supported them in 2014, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2024, but they had failed to defeat the BJP. The SPM has the political and intellectual honesty to take on the BJP and the RSS.”
Declaration of Aazad as the chief ministerial face has unsettled rival parties, claimed Owaisi, who invoked the Preamble and Dr B R Ambedkar’s emphasis on “political justice” and said communities must secure their rightful political representation.
“The opposition parties are troubled because political ground is slipping from beneath their feet. Votes will no longer be sought based on exploitation and fear, but on hope, change, participation and justice,” he said.
Maintaining that Akhilesh Yadav practices “entitlement politics”, the AIMIM chief asked whether the Samajwadi Party chief had ever faced a bullet attack like Aazad did in 2023, or if his car ever came under attack as Owaisi’s did in 2022.
“Akhilesh Yadav is a former chief minister and, Inshallah, will remain one. Those who live in glass houses do not know what people go through. You practise entitlement politics,” he said.
The AIMIM chief said the withdrawal of government security would not silence him. “We are prepared to shed every drop of our blood for this cause. Listen, Akhilesh Yadav, even if we have to die, we will say that this was a cheap bargain,” he said.
Asked about Yadav’s proposed visit to Ayodhya on December 12 to offer prayers at the Ram temple, Owaisi recited a couplet by poet Amir Minai: “Sarakti jaaye hai rukh se naqaab aahista aahista, nikalta aa raha hai tera chehra aahista aahista” (The veil slowly slips away from the face, and your face gradually emerges).
He also recalled the stand taken by the Samajwadi Party’s late leader Mulayam Singh on the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment in the Ayodhya title dispute.
He also referred to the appointment of senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan as convenor of the Babri Masjid Action Committee, and said journalists should question the party’s leaders about their past positions and actions.
On Azam Khan’s imprisonment, Owaisi pointed out that cleric Tauqeer Raza of Bareilly was also in jail, along with people from Dalit, minority and upper-caste communities. He said all of them deserved justice and urged journalists to seek answers from Khan about his association with the Babri Masjid Action Committee.
Owaisi also accused the previous Samajwadi Party government of failing to adequately address the plight of victims of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. He claimed that around 50,000 people were displaced, while Bollywood celebrities attended a programme in Saifai.
Referring to allegations of sexual assault against women during the riots, he claimed that seven women withdrew their cases under pressure, while one woman who refused to do so did not receive government security. He said these were documented matters and the Samajwadi Party should respond to the allegations.
“The issue here is equality, participation and dignity. They want (Muslims) to merely ‘lay carpets’ and sacrifice their youth for ‘Bhaiya’. This will no longer happen,” Owaisi said in a reference to Yadav.
Owaisi said both AIMIM and ASP (Kanshiram) would work together to ensure the alliance’s success, adding that its victory would mean the success of the state’s people. He appealed to the people to attend a public meeting scheduled for November 26, saying it would mark the start of a movement for social change.
On the BJP and other political parties, Owaisi said they represented the politics of the past, while the Samajik Parivartan Morcha would focus on the future.
(PTI News)
