Bhim Army chief announces alliance of 35 smaller parties ahead of UP polls

This alliance, named the Samajik Parivartan Morcha, will not field a candidate against Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, who also heads the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), announced an alliance of 35 smaller political parties for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. The new alliance has been named the Samajik Parivartan Morcha.

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad said the ASP will not tie up with established political parties, but will form an alliance with smaller parties who are fighting for the rights of Dalits, OBCs, tribals and Muslims. Azad addressed a press conference at the party’s state unit office in Lucknow on Sunday. (HT PHOTO.)

Azad, who had announced he would contest the election from the Gorakhpur urban assembly seat against chief minister Yogi Adityanath, said the alliance will not field a candidate against Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav who will contest from Karhal in Mainpuri district.

“The Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), the political outfit of the Bhim Army, has formed a pre-poll alliance with 35 smaller political parties to contest the assembly elections,” Chandrashekhar Azad said at a press conference at the party’s state unit office in Lucknow on Sunday.

The alliance will field candidates on all the 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, he said.

The announcement by Azad comes a day after the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) led by Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday announced the launch of Bhagidari Parivartan Morcha of five political parties. Owaisi had said the alliance had kept its doors open for other smaller parties, including Bhim Army.

Azad said the ASP will not tie up with the big or established political parties, but will form an alliance with the smaller political parties who are fighting for the rights of the Dalits, OBCs (other backward classes), tribals and Muslims. The alliance will release its manifesto for the assembly elections soon, he said.

Prominent OBC leaders who joined the alliance included Babu Ram Pal and Raj Kumar Saini.

Azad said he will launch his election campaign for the Gorakhpur urban assembly seat within a week.

Before that, he will hold a virtual meeting with party workers in Gorakhpur and the work to establish committees at booth level has started, he said.