Victory in two Maharashtra seats gives boost to MIM

October 20, 2014 12:40 am | Updated November 17, 2021 05:56 am IST - HYDERABAD:

For a party confined to electoral successes in Hyderabad for several decades, the victory of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in two Assembly constituencies of Maharashtra is a big boost for the party and its plans to spread its influence to other States.

The AIMIM won the Byculla seat in Mumbai and the Aurangabad central seat, the former with a thin majority. It contested 24 seats, including 14 in Mumbai, mostly from Muslim and Dalit populated pockets. Twelve of the 14 seats in Mumbai were either held by the Congress or Nationalist Congress Party. The party stood second in three and third in nine constituencies.

Pundits proved wrong

The AIMIM had entered the fray as a black horse because political pundits had given it little chance of making an impact in the five-way contest between major parties. The party president Asaduddin Owaisi and his brother Akbaruddin Owaisi targeted the Congress and NCP in their election campaign for playing communal politics in the garb of secularism. On the other hand, the Congress and NCP accused MIM of being an agent of the BJP that was out to divide the secular vote.

The party’s claim was that it fought elections to win and not benefit any party. Otherwise, it would have contested all the 288 seats of the Assembly to make an impact.

This was the first time that AIMIM contested Assembly elections outside Hyderabad. It had won 11 seats in Nanded municipal elections in 2012. The Owaisi brothers toured extensively in Maharashtra during the campaign trail and drew huge crowds even as the police issued notices to them against giving provocative speeches. They were barred entry into Aurangabad, Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra earlier on fears that it might lead to a law and order problem. But they got permission from courts to move around.

Expansion plans

Reacting to the victory, Mr. Asaduddin said it was “historic”. The AIMIM will show the difference to people between its legislators and that of other parties. The party will contest elections to Mumbai Municipal Corporation, panchayats and zilla parishads in Maharashtra. “We will replicate the experience in other States.”

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