In tough Uttar Pradesh race, why SP, Congress will keep eye on tie-up of Owaisi, Apna Dal faction

In Uttar Pradesh, the Lok Sabha contest will primarily be between the BJP-led NDA and the Samajwadi Party-Congress INDIA bloc, with the unaligned BSP posing a considerable challenge to both alliances. However, come Sunday, another ‘front’ of smaller parties was announced in the state, with the potential of changing the fortunes of INDIA parties.

This front includes the AIMIM, which has had limited success in UP in its previous poll frays, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) that was till recently an SP ally, and the little-known Rashtriya Uday Party led by Baburam Pal, and Pragatisheel Manav Samaj Party led by Prem Chand Bind.

The new alliance, named the ‘PDM Nyay Morcha’, claims to represent “Pichhde, Dalit, and Musalman”, hence posing a direct competition to the SP’s PDA (Pichchde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) pitch. On paper, this has the potential to dent the SP’s Muslim-Yadav vote bank.

The SP was also the target of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Apna Dal (K) leader Pallavi Patel’s speeches at the PDM launch. “In the last Assembly elections in UP, 90% Muslims voted for the SP, but what was the result?… No one wants leadership of the Muslim community. They only ask for their votes,” Owaisi said.

Patel accused the SP of being two-faced over its PDA claims as well, with the Apna Dal (K) alleging that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had not lived up to his promise of prioritising the backwards.

For the INDIA bloc, the emergence of the PDM front comes on the back of the loss of the RLD to the NDA.

The results for the two Assembly elections in which the AIMIM has participated show a minimum presence for the Hyderabad-based party in UP. The Apna Dal (K), which is an offshoot of the Apna Dal (S) that is an NDA ally, performed even worse in 2022, the first