AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi and Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) chief Chandrashekhar Azad are expected to hold a joint press conference in Lucknow on Thursday to announce a pact between their two parties for the upcoming 2027 Uttar Pradesh elections, party leaders indicated.The two-party alliance, in the making, could well be the much-talked-about non-BJP, non-Congress third front as both AIMIM and Azad Samaj Party look at the nearly 41 per cent Dalit and minority vote bank in the most populous state where the BJP is eyeing a record hat-trick.The nature of the pact is yet to be revealed but AIMIM spokesperson Shadab Chauhan confirmed that the Azad Samaj Party, headed by Nagina MP Azad, and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) led by Owaisi, will join hands.“The nature of the pact and other details will be revealed on Thursday during the press conference to be addressed by AIMIM and Bhim Army leadership,” Shadab said.It is still unclear how many seats the two parties plan to contest in the state with 403 seats.Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav renewed his attack on the Centre over demonetisation, describing it as the “biggest corruption scandal in the world” and alleging that the 2016 currency ban damaged banks, MSMEs and small traders.Addressing the media in Lucknow on the 10th anniversary of demonetisation, Akhilesh invoked his “Khajanchi” jibe, referring to the infant born in a bank queue during the cash crunch that followed the November 8, 2016, decision to withdraw Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. “Today Khajanchi turned 10. We have been celebrating his birthday since the beginning, but the BJP has never celebrated it. His 10 years are full of failures,” he said.He said the move hurt MSMEs and small businesses, while bank mergers and privatisation had weakened the banking system.