The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Chandrasekhar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party (ASP), and Swami Prasad Maurya’s Apna Janata Party (AJP) on Wednesday announced the formation of a new front, the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), to jointly contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.
The alliance will field candidates in at least 64 of the 243 constituencies, AIMIM Bihar state president Akhtarul Iman said while addressing a press conference in Kishanganj alongside leaders from the allied parties.
“To give more space to other secular parties, our AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi suggested that we contest only in constituencies where the three parties have an established base. Accordingly, the GDA will contest 64 seats, AIMIM 35, Azad Samaj Party 25, and AJP four. We may expand this depending on ongoing alliance discussions,” Iman said.
Highlighting the alliance’s social composition and political intent, Iman, the sole AIMIM MLA in the Bihar Assembly, added, “The GDA partners have consistently represented the oppressed sections in Bihar, including Dalits, OBCs, and minorities. We are confident that the coming together of these three parties under the GDA banner will positively influence Bihar’s political landscape.”
The 243-member Bihar Assembly elections are scheduled to take place in two phases, on November 6 and 11.
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