Asaduddin Owaisi, chief of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), has signalled his readiness to tie up with the INDIA bloc, particularly Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, to take on the ruling BJP in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, according to a Times of India report.
Speaking at a rally in Moradabad, the Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP said he was ready to "join hands" or "form an alliance" with the SP, which is likely to tread carefully given that both parties compete for an overlapping voter base in the 403-seat assembly.
'Don't cry later', Owaisi tells SP
Dismissing the BJP's "B-team" tag against his party, Owaisi said he did not want the BJP to return to power in the state for a third straight term, provided the SP agreed to an alliance to avoid splitting the anti-BJP vote. TOI noted that such a tie-up would be a tough call for the SP, since it could end up strengthening AIMIM's footprint in the politically crucial state.
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"I have said this before, and I am saying it again: the Majlis does not want the BJP to form the government again in Uttar Pradesh. I am ready to join hands. I am ready to form an alliance. Today is the time to talk. Don't cry later after the elections are over," Owaisi said.
He added that he did not want the BJP back in power, and pushed back at the SP's apprehension that his party's candidates would eat into anti-BJP votes, saying he was ready to contest alongside them instead.
'Our fight is for our honour': Owaisi
Owaisi also said AIMIM's fight was never against any religion, and never would be. He described it instead as a fight for the community's honour, justice and equal standing, saying they no longer wished to "sit on a mat."
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"If Akhilesh sits in front of that chair, then Owaisi will sit cross-legged in front of that chair and talk about rights and justice," he said.
With inputs from Times of India
