Samajik Parivartan Morcha: Owaisi names Chandrashekhar Azad UP CM face

Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and Chandrashekhar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) have joined hands for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly election under a new name: the Samajik Parivartan Morcha, or “Social Change Front”. At a joint press conference in Lucknow on Thursday, 12 November, Owaisi named Azad, the Bhim Army founder and MP from Nagina, as the front’s chief ministerial candidate.

What they announced

• Seats: the front plans to contest all 403 seats in India’s most populous state, Dainik Jagran reported.
• Aim: Owaisi said the goal is to stop the BJP from winning Uttar Pradesh for a third straight time.
• Pitch: free education, better healthcare, jobs for young people, help for farmers and welfare for women and the poor, according to The Federal.
• Next step: a public rally on 26 November.

Azad rejected the label of a “third front”. He called it the “first front” and said the door is still open to the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati’s BSP.

How it came together

AIMIM first tried to join the opposition INDIA bloc in UP, but those talks went nowhere, NewsDrum reported, so Owaisi turned to Azad. The front is built on a Dalit and Muslim voter base: Azad’s support is strongest among Dalit voters in western UP, Owaisi’s among Muslims.

The reaction

The BJP, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress all criticised the alliance, The Week reported. The Samajwadi Party’s worry is obvious: it depends heavily on Muslim votes, and opposition parties have long accused AIMIM of splitting the anti-BJP vote. The BJP says the front will make no difference.

Why Pakistanis follow this

Uttar Pradesh sends 80 MPs to India’s parliament, more than any other state, so whoever runs it has a big say in national politics. Owaisi is also one of the most quoted Indian politicians in Pakistan, often for his speeches on minority rights.

The 26 November rally will be the first test of how many people the new front can pull.