AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, who arrived in Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur and later Varanasi on Tuesday to campaign for PDM candidates, urged voters to cast their ballots using the envelope symbol.
Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), a party focused on the Kurmi OBC community led by Krishna Patel, joined hands with AIMIM, Pragatisheel Manav Samaj Party, and Rashtriya Uday Party to form the PDM, representing the backward, Dalit, and Muslim communities.
“We are part of PDM in Uttar Pradesh and are appealing for PDM candidates wherever they are to cast their vote on envelop sign,” Owaisi told ANI.
Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s accusation against the Congress of attempting to diminish reservation benefits for Dalits, tribals, and backward classes in favor of Muslims, Owaisi stated, “After the first phase, PM has restricted election to Muslims only, PM wants to tell that only Muslim votes and no other community votes. This is their (BJP) strategy, they want to hide their failures by showing Muslim fear and hatred. They have not provided employment, inflation is skyrocketing, and papers are being leaked in Uttar Pradesh. Their foreign policy is so incompetent that a country like Nepal marks Indian territory as part of theirs on the currency notes. Now the nation is watching all this and has understood that they want to abolish the Constitution.”
Expressing concern, Owaisi added, “…I just want to appeal people to stop PM Modi from becoming Prime Minister for the third time otherwise there will be rise in unemployment and inflation and Constitution will be abolished.”
Uttar Pradesh is voting in all seven phases of the Lok Sabha polls, with the final phase scheduled for June 1. The Congress is contesting in partnership with the Samajwadi Party, with a seat-sharing agreement in place.
Under the agreement, Congress is contesting 17 seats, while the Samajwadi Party has the remaining 63 seats in the crucial state.
In the 2019 general elections, the BJP secured 62 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, along with two seats won by its ally Apna Dal (S). Mayawati’s BSP secured 10 seats, while Akhilesh Yadav’s SP won five. Conversely, the Congress party secured only one seat.
Polling for the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections is set for June 1, with vote counting scheduled for June 4.
