In a major development shaking Uttar Pradesh politics, veteran leader Swami Prasad Maurya on Thursday announced the formation of a new political coalition, Lok Morcha, comprising nine allied parties. The former cabinet minister and key OBC figure also unveiled his aspiration as the coalition’s chief ministerial candidate for the 2027 assembly elections.
Maurya unveiled the agenda for Lok Morcha – “UP Bachao, BJP Hatao” (“Save UP, Remove BJP”), as the coalition’s guiding slogan. The alliance includes Apni Janata Party (led by Maurya), Rashtriya Samanta Dal, Samyak Party, Janseva Dal, Political Justice Party, Sarvlokhit Samaj Party, Swatantra Janata Raj Party, Sabka Dal-U and Loktantra Suraksha Party. Most organizations represent leaders from backward communities.
Maurya asserted the Morcha will mobilize grassroots campaigns across the Lucknow division starting Friday, focusing on public issues and raising awareness of the coalition’s vision and ideology. He emphasized caste-inclusive representation, vowing that nodal roles within Lok Morcha will be “proportional to caste population” (“jiski jitni sankha bhari‑uski utni hissedari”).
During the press meet, Maurya lashed out at the incumbent state government, criticizing rising crime, lack of reservation in outsourced roles, inflation, privatization of education, farmer exploitation, and supposed terrorisation of Muslim communities. He also pledged to advocate ballot-paper voting instead of electronic voting machines for both Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
Maurya’s political journey began with the Bahujan Samaj Party; he later joined the BJP, served as a minister (2017-2022), switched to the Samajwadi Party before the 2022 elections, and resigned in February 2024. With this fresh coalition, he aims to challenge BJP’s dominance in UP ahead of 2027.
