UP Gave A Chance To BJP, Opposition, Needs New Option: Chandrashekhar Azad

Chandrashekhar Azad, the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief who has formed an alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi for the elections in Uttar Pradesh, told NDTV today that it is time the people had an option apart from the BJP and the usual conglomerate of opposition parties. 

"The public has seen the BJP's 9.5-year tenure: how paper leaks happened, how there were scams in the recruitment of 68,579 teachers, how there were scams in police recruitment. The public has seen that and the injustice," he said. 

"They gave them (the Samajwadi Party) a chance too... When they saw they couldn't do anything, that's why they removed them, right? Not me. The entire population of Uttar Pradesh removed them. So, they have been tested," he said. 

"There is a saying: If you test someone who has already been tested, you will get what you usually get. That is why the public is fed up with them, and wants a new alternative. The Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram)'s alliance - the Social Justice Front - will bring about a change of power in 2027. That is my belief," he added.

The alliance encapsulates the Muslim-Dalit vote combination that currently backs Akhilesh Yadav. Owaisi's AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) entered the alliance after seeking alliance with the state's opposition parties and receiving no response. 

Asked about the matter and whether he was Owaisi's Plan B, Azad, the Lok Sabha member from Nagina, said he was part of the alliance efforts from the very beginning. 

But the opposition parties, instead of focussing on ousting the BJP, are just busy fighting each other, he said.

While neither partners in the alliance have won a seat in Uttar Pradesh, they are banking on the numbers. The Dalits comprise 20 per cent of the state's population and the Muslims over 40 per cent. 

It is also the reason why the opposition, which  banks on these numbers, have accused them of being votecutters and the BJP's B team.