Owaisi readies for poll battles in key states, says India bloc an elite club

Withthejd(u)andtherldhavingalreadywalkedoutofitscamp to join the ruling Bjp-led NDA in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, respectively,theoppositionindiablocis staring at another challenge: the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, which is likely to contest multiple seats in these two crucial Hindi heartland states in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Despite not being an INDIA constituent, the AIMIM is likely to draw minority voters,whoformacriticalsupport base for the alliance.

Sources said the AIMIM is planning to contest on as many as 20 seats in UP and about seven seatsinbihar.inthe2019polls,the partyhadcontestedonlyoneseat from the heartland, in Bihar.

The AIMIM will also enter the fray in Maharashtra — where it could foray into Mumbai and Marathwada — as well as Telanganawherebesidesitshome turf Hyderabad, it may also contest from Secunderabad. The party, however, is unlikely to contest in Tmc-ruled West Bengal, whereithadfieldedcandidatesin the 2021 Assembly polls.

“We will fight in Hyderabad (Telangana), Aurangabad (Maharashtra) and Kishanganj (Bihar) for sure. Our Bihar unit wantstofightonmoreseats.inup too, there are similar demands. In Maharashtra,thereisacalltofight from Mumbai and Marathwada. We will soon decide how many seatswearegoingtofight,”owaisi told The Indian Express.

The AIMIM currently has two seats in the Lok Sabha, represented by Owaisi (Hyderabad) andimtiazjaleel(aurangabad).in 2019,Akhtar-ul-iman,theaimim candidate from Kishanganj, had polled almost 3 lakh votes, comingthirdbehindthecongressand Jd(u)candidates.kishanganjwas theonlyseatinbiharoutof40that the Congress-rjd alliance won in 2019. The AIMIM will again field Akhtar-ul-iman from the seat.

Theaimim’splansarecausing aworryfortheoppositiongrouping since its Lok Sabha election strategy depends significantly on the minority votes in north India, which it is hoping to consolidate.

Although the AIMIM had not fielded any candidate in UP in 2019,itdidwellinlocalbodypolls in the state in 2017, securing 32 seats. And although it did not win any seat in the 2022 UP Assembly polls, the votes it polled in over 10 seats were more than the margin of defeat for the SP candidates there. The AIMIM’S bid to enter Mumbai and Marathwada, around 12% of whose population is Muslim, would also be a concern for the INDIA bloc.

In Bihar, the AIMIM has done well in the Seemanchal region, which has a significant Muslim population. “The RJD took four of our MLAS. So, there is no question of an alliance with them. Why AIMIM is not with INDIA is somethingonlyindiacananswer.they havealreadyformedaneliteclub,” Owaisi said.