The formation of the Samajik Parivartan Morcha, the pre-poll alliance of Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM and Chandrashekhar Aazad's Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections drew sharp reactions from the BJP, Samajwadi Party and Congress on Thursday, asWhile the BJP highlighted its work for marginalised communities, the opposition questioned the alliance's electoral prospects.BJP state president Pankaj Chaudhary said opposition parties treated Dalits, backward classes and deprived sections merely as vote banks, while the BJP gave them respect, security and opportunities."Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the poor have benefited from government schemes without discrimination. People will once again choose the politics of development in 2027," Chaudhary told PTI.

Samajwadi Party spokesperson Abbas Haider said there was nothing objectionable about political parties joining hands to contest elections as they had the democratic right to do so. However, he questioned the electoral prospects of the two parties.Haider said leaders seeking to expand their political presence in Uttar Pradesh should first demonstrate their organisational strength and public support in their home states. "Their electoral performance in the 2022 Assembly election is there for everyone to see," he told PTI.

He said the 2027 election would be fought on issues such as unemployment, inflation, law and order, and governance failures. He added that voters would ultimately decide the outcome.Congress leader Asim Waqar, who recently switched from the AIMIM to the Congress, alleged that the alliance had been formed at the BJP's behest. "Some leaders work from time to time to help the BJP," he said in a video statement.Waqar urged voters, particularly from the Muslim community, to prevent the ruling party from securing a third consecutive term in Uttar Pradesh.

In a separate post on X, he criticised the alliance for naming Chandrashekhar Aazad as its chief ministerial face and asked why a Muslim had not been chosen.While announcing the alliance, Aazad said it would unite deprived, oppressed and marginalised sections and give them a political platform to secure power. He and Owaisi said their aim was to stop the BJP's victory march in the state.The two leaders said the alliance was open to support from the Samajwadi Party and the Congress.

They also announced plans to hold a public rally in Lucknow on November 26, Constitution Day. The Samajwadi Party is scheduled to release its election manifesto on the same day.Both the AIMIM and the Azad Samaj Party contested the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but failed to win a seat.

The AIMIM has faced allegations of being the BJP's "B-team" and a vote-cutter despite expressing interest in joining the INDIA bloc, a possibility ruled out by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. Aazad had also expressed interest in an alliance with the Samajwadi Party.Congress leader Imran Masood had earlier described such alliances as inconsequential.

However, their impact will be closely watched in western Uttar Pradesh and Rohilkhand, where Dalits and Muslims form sizeable voter groups.The new alliance will contest the 2027 Uttar Pradesh election after both parties failed to win seats in 2022, even as the BJP, Samajwadi Party and Congress offered sharply different assessments of its prospects.- Ends