AIMIM to contest Bihar assembly polls in Seemanchal

On Saturday, coinciding with All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM)’s decision to join the poll fray in Bihar, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) intensified their move to form an alliance to fight the Mahagathbandhan as well as NDA.

“The RJD, the JD-U, and the Congress have a track record of being secular”.

The BJP has formed alliance with Ram Vilas Paswan, former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi and others in a bid to grab power in Bihar.

“Owaisi is in cahoots with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)”.

Owaisi, however, dispelled the notion that his party’s entry into the poll arena will cause a division of votes.

Owaisi has already struck the right chords with the youth during his maiden rally at Kishanganj in August where he talked about the underdevelopment of the Seemanchal region and demanded a special package for it. He also took on Nitish and Lalu for doing nothing for the progress of minorities in the state. “Owaisi’s entry in Bihar polls is not going to harm us”. “This is not Hyderabad, but Bihar”, he said. The party also made an impressive debut in last year’s Maharashtra elections by winning two seats out of the 26 it contested in the western state. “Seemanchal has been ignored by all major parties in Bihar and it has remained backward. It is in the interest and justice of Seemanchal region that we are contesting elections there”, the firebrand AIMIM leader said without disclosing the number of seats his party will contest.

“We will fight the Bihar Assembly elections from the Seemanchal region. That’s why we want the Government to set up a regional developmental council under Article 371 of the Constitution”, he said.

Last month, Asaddudin Owaisi had addressed a public meeting in Kishanganj district in Seemanchal region.

“Owaisi’s AIMIM contesting Bihar polls will make no difference to BJP’s prospects”.

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