Asaduddin Owaisi’s party joins hands with Apna Dal (K) for Lok Sabha polls

Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) leader Pallavi Patel and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi (left)

Lucknow:

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) have announced an alliance for the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.

The alliance led by Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) leader Pallavi Patel and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has been named PDM, which means “Pichda, Dalit and Musalman”.

Other political parties like Premchand Bind’s Pragatisheel Manav Samaj Party and Rashtriya Uday Party are also included in the alliance.

Recently, the Samajwadi Party terminated its relationship with Kameravadi, Apurnadar, over long-running and public differences between the alliance partners.

Responding to a media query, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said, “We were in alliance with the Apna Dal (Kameravadi) in the 2022 assembly elections, but not in 2024.”

The rift between the two parties came to the fore when Apna Dal (K) leader and SP MLA Pallavi Patel refused to vote for two SP candidates in the February Rajya Sabha polls, saying the SP was neglecting its own PDA (Pichda , Dalit, Alpasankhyak) ) formula to select candidates. She eventually claimed that she voted for the only Dalit of the three Socialist Party candidates.

Apna Dal (K) is a faction of the Apna Dal founded by OBC leader Dr. Sonelal Patel, who died in a road accident in 2009.

The Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases starting from April 19.

Uttar Pradesh has sent up to 80 MPs to the Assembly, which will vote in all seven phases.

Voting for the first and second phases will be held on April 19 and April 26. Next, the state will conduct voting in the third and fourth phases again on May 7 and May 13.

Voters in Uttar Pradesh will also vote in the fifth, sixth and seventh phases on May 20, May 23 and June 1 respectively.

Counting of votes will take place on June 4.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)