Delhi Confidential: AIMIM-ASP set to announce UP poll pact; CAQM plans Punjab field visits amid stubble burning spike

Welcome to Delhi Confidential, your inside track to the power corridors of the capital. Today: From Asaduddin Owaisi and Chandrashekhar joining hands for Uttar Pradesh polls after cold shoulders from SP and BSP to senior Delhi Police officers being told to listen to rank-and-file grievances.

1. 01

   Electoral Pact

   Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM and Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) of Nagina MP Chandrashekhar are likely to announce an alliance for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections on Thursday. Owaisi decided to join hands with Chandrashekhar after the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party didn’t show any warmth in his offer for an electoral pact, it is learnt. The AIMIM had an alliance with Chandrashekhar’s party and Swami Prasad Maurya-led Apni Janata Party (AJP) in the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls. In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, AIMIM formed a ‘third front’ with the Jan Adhikar Party led by former UP minister Babu Singh Kushwaha and the Bhartiya Mukti Morcha headed by Waman Meshram.

2. 02

   Taking Stock

   A spurt in farm fires in Punjab and the overall spike in air pollution around Diwali has prompted the Commission for Air Quality Management in Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas to look for answers not only through appraisals with state officials but also beyond. Senior officials of the Commission, it is learnt, have scheduled field visits in Punjab to see first-hand where enforcement is lacking and what needs to be done to curb farm fires as the paddy harvest enters its final leg.

3. 03

   Learning Curve

   After Assistant Commissioner of Police Manasvi Vashishtha, along with a group of police personnel, staged a protest outside Delhi Police headquarters and was subsequently suspended by the MHA, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar has asked all senior officers to meet and address the grievances of the personnel down the ladder.