UP Lok Sabha Election
– Photo: Amar Ujala
Expansion
Questions are now being raised among political pundits as to whether the Backward-Dalit-Muslim (PDM) Nyaya Morcha of Pallavi Patel and Asaduddin Owaisi will fare well in the elections. But, the way Owaisi has been continuously accusing SP of exploiting Muslims and doing politics only to get votes, it is clear that he is going to pose the biggest challenge to Akhilesh Yadav.
The Owaisi factor is also important in the Lok Sabha elections because SP’s Backward, Dalit and Minority (PDA) is now competing with PDM. Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) leader Pallavi Patel has parted ways with SP. She has been attacking SP, accusing it of ignoring PDA.
At the same time, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen President Asaduddin Owaisi has also been accusing SP of exploiting Muslims. AIMIM’s penetration among Muslim voters is continuously increasing. This is the reason why Akhilesh Yadav has been trying to reduce Owaisi’s influence among Muslims by calling him BJP’s ‘B team’.
The 2017 assembly election was the first election for AIMIM in the state. The party had fielded candidates on 38 seats. Including all the seats, he got around 2 lakh votes. Owaisi’s party got maximum 60 thousand votes in Sambhal seat.