Monday, May 20

Owaisi’s AIMIM Declares Alliance With Apna Dal (K); Forms PDM Nyay Morcha

Edited by Hiba Anvar

Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) on Sunday officially broke its alliance with the INDIA bloc opposition and announced its new alliance with All India Masjid-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Making the party’s stance clear, Apna Dal leader Pallavi Patel announced that they are no longer an ally of the SP which is a member of the INDIA bloc. While speaking to PTI, Apna Dal chief Krishna Patel said, “We are not a part of the INDIA bloc now”.

The alliance led by Apna Dal (K)’s leader Pallavi Patel and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi led the alliance is named PDM, which means “Pichda, Dalit and Musalman”.

Other parties including Premchand Bind’s Pragatisheel Manav Samaj Party and Rashtriya Uday Party are also included in the alliance. It was recently the Samajwadi party called off its ties with Apna Dal (K) due to the differences between the alliance partners. By breaking the alliance, Krishna Patel said that her party’s alliance with the SP does not exist anymore and blamed Akhilesh Yadav for the breakup.

Meanwhile, responding to a media inquiry on Thursday, SP president Akhilesh Yadav said, “We were in alliance with Apna Dal (K) in the 2022 assembly polls but it is not in 2024”.

The rift between the two parties began when Apna Dal (K) leader and SP MLA Pallavi Patel refused to vote for two SP candidates in the February Rajya Sabha polls, saying that the SP had ignored its own PDA formula in choosing its candidate. She immediately responded claiming that she voted for the only Dalit among the three SP candidates.

Pallavi Patel also claimed that the Owaisi can look after the interests of the Muslims better than SP chief Yadav. She has urged all the workers of the parties of the PDM Nyay Morcha to unite together for the Lok Sabha polls and strengthen the alliance.

OBC leader Dr Sonelal Patel founded Apna Dal (K). He died in a road accident in 2009.