UP polls: Asaduddin Owaisi meets ex-SP leader Shivpal Yadav; sparks buzz about alliance

In a key development ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls on Tuesday, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi called on former SP leader Shivpal Yadav. Since leaving the Akhilesh Yadav-led party, the latter has been heading the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia)- a party that he formed on August 29, 2018. While Shivpal Yadav has shown an inclination to tie up with SP, Akhilesh Yadav has not reciprocated his offer so far. At present, he is the MLA from the Jaswantnagar Assembly constituency from where he has been winning since 1996.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Owaisi remarked, "Yes, I came to meet him. He is a very big leader". However, he refused to provide further details sparking buzz about a possible alliance. 

Earlier, sources told Republic TV that the SP chief and Shivpal Yadav will share the stage for the celebration of Mulayam Singh Yadav's birthday on November 22. Opening up on the possibility of a tie-up, Shivpal Yadav told reporters in November 2020, "For the 2022 elections, we will forge an alliance. Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party will exist and we will contest under the 'key' symbol. To remove BJP, we will ally - Samajwadi Party is one such party, we are in talks with others too". 

AIMIM's thrust on UP polls

For the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, AIMIM has joined the 'Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha' which is being led by Om Prakash Rajbhar. It comprises 9 other parties including the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, the Apna Dal faction of Krishna Patel, Rashtroday Party, Rashtriya Bhagidari Party and Janta Kranti Party. A Minister in the Yogi Adityanath-led Cabinet until 2019, Rajbhar has been a fierce critic of the state government and the Centre after parting ways with the saffron party.

Recently, there has been friction between AIMIM and SBSP with the latter keeping the door open for an alliance with BJP. However, UP AIMIM president Shaukat Ali strongly disapproved of this stance. While clarifying that his party is still an alliance partner of SBSP, he stressed that AIMIM shall never join hands with the saffron party. In a controversial move, Owaisi inducted incarcerated mafia don-turned-politician Ateeq Ahmad into his party and even tried to meet him at the Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad.