New Delhi: The Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, 4 of whose 5 MLAs elected within the 2020 Bihar meeting elections had defected to the RJD, has despatched feelers to the Lalu Yadav-led get together and the Congress to hitch their Mahagathbandhan within the “bigger curiosity of secular” events within the poll-bound state.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s Bihar president Akhtarul Iman instructed ThePrint he has approached each the Mahagathbandhan allies to contest the polls collectively so there is no such thing as a cut up in secular votes and the AIMIM just isn’t dubbed as a B-team of the BJP.
“We wish to present our sincerity in direction of preventing the polls along with the Mahagathbandhan. Now, the ball is of their court docket.”
“The RJD has taken away our MLAs. However we’re able to overlook that and begin afresh. If they don’t settle for our supply they can not later say we divided Muslim votes. We’re able to contest greater than 50 seats in our stronghold areas and Seemanchal,“ he stated.
The AIMIM contested the 2020 meeting polls in alliance with the Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Samta Occasion and the BSP. The Owaisi-led get together created a flutter because it gained 5 of the 20 seats it contested, securing 14.28 p.c votes in complete in these seats.
Requested in regards to the AIMIM’s willingness to hitch the alliance now, RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari stated, “The individuals of Bihar have determined to make Tejashwi Yadav chief minister. Lalu Prasad has fought communal forces all through his life. He by no means compromised. Some ‘vote katua’ get together (a celebration that doesn’t a have practical probability of successful however contests polls simply to chop into different events’ votes) can not hurt individuals’s aspiration. They (AIMIM) has expressed need, the get together will look into it.”
The 5 seats the AIMIM gained in 2020 are within the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal districts of Araria, Purnea, Katihar and Kishanganj. The BSP gained just one seat out of 78 it contested, however the RLSP did not open its account regardless of contesting 99.
Nonetheless, 4 AIMIM MLAs—Muhammed Izhar Asfi (Kochadamam), Shahnawaz Alam (Jokihat), Syed Ruknuddin (Baisi) and Azhar Nayeemi (Bahadurgunj)— converted to the RJD in June 2022, leaving Amour MLA Iman because the lone get together consultant within the meeting.
Additionally Learn: Household issues in Bihar’s Dalit politics—Manjhis to Paswans, how kin are rising up the ladder
The Seemanchal story
Bihar’s Seemanchal area, bordering West Bengal, is dominated by Muslim inhabitants. Kishanganj district has 67 p.c Muslim voters, Katihar 38 p.c, Araria 32 p.c and Purnia 30 p.c.
The AIMIM carried out nicely in Muslim-dominated constituencies in 2020, which, many argued, minimize into the RJD’s and the Congress’s conventional voter base, thus benefitting the BJP and its NDA ally JD(U).
When the outcomes had been introduced 10 November 2020, the NDA gained a majority within the 243-seat meeting, however its tally of 125 was solely marginally above the bulk mark of 122.
In these elections, the RJD contested 144 seats and gained 75, rising as the one largest get together. Amongst its Mahagathbandhan allies, the Congress contested 70 seats and gained 19, CPI-ML fought on 19 seats and gained 12, and the CPI contested six and gained two. The CPM contested 4 seats and gained two. The alliance gained 110 seats in complete.
The grouping’s composition has modified since.
The Mukesh Sahni-led Vikassheel Insaan Occasion (VIP)—which contested 11 seats within the 2020 polls as an NDA accomplice and gained 4—has joined the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan now.
Pashupati Kumar Paras-led Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Occasion (RLJP) additionally stop the NDA in April and, in keeping with sources, he too is knocking on the door of the Mahagathbandhan to hitch the alliance.
Additionally Learn: Chirag targets Nitish over Muzaffarpur case, flags ‘breakdown’ in Bihar regulation & order, healthcare
Seat-sharing main roadblock
Sources say the AIMIM is demanding 20-25 seats within the Mahagathbandhan which might show to be the deal-breaker. “The principle drawback is the best way to accommodate these many companions,” stated a supply within the RJD.
“The AIMIM is demanding 25 seats and the RJD can not supply greater than 10. The RJD is prepared to provide 50 to the Congress, 20 fewer than what it received in 2020, and the Left events can get 30. The VIP can get 8 to 10 seats. However, the Congress is demanding extra, and so are the Left events,” he added.
In the meantime, Akhtarul Iman instructed ThePrint he has spoken to his get together president Owaisi in regards to the state unit’s need and he “gave us full freedom to provoke talks with the RJD and the Congress”.
He stated he has reached out to Tejashwi Yadav by way of some RJD MLAs, and in the event that they present a “large coronary heart” there might be no cut up of votes within the Muslim-dominated constituencies.
He stated the AIMIM had requested to hitch the Mahagathbandhan within the 2020 elections too, “however the RJD didn’t ship any affirmation and we fought individually”.
“It’s one other try from our finish to forge an alliance so later they can not name us a B workforce of the BJP,” he stated.
Additionally Learn: No everlasting peace so long as Pakistan makes use of its territory for terrorism in opposition to India, says Owaisi
‘No vote katua’
Owaisi has at all times vehemently rejected any try and dub his get together as vote ‘katua’. After the outcomes had been introduced in 2020, he had stated that on the 20 seats his get together contested, the Mahagathbandhan gained the utmost 9, whereas the NDA gained six and his get together simply 5.
On all these six seats—Raniganj, Pranpur, Barari, Sahebganj, Narpatganj and Chhatapur—the victory margins for NDA candidates had been larger than the votes polled by the AIMIM candidates, indicating the AIMIM didn’t significantly hurt the prospects of Mahagathbandhan candidates.
And the margins had been considerably larger on three of those seats—Sahebganj, Narpatganj and Chhatapur.
Within the 2015 polls, the AIMIM contested six seats, all within the Seemanchal area. Its candidates suffered heavy defeats, with just one managing to save lots of his deposit.
They AIMIM argues it didn’t hurt Mahagathbandhan’s secular votes then both as 5 of the six seats it contested—Kishanganj, Baisi, Amour, Kochadhaman and Raniganj —had been gained by the candidates of the then Congress-RJD-Janata Dal (United) alliance. The sixth seat, Balrampur, was gained by the CPI-ML.
D.M. Diwakar, a former head of Patna’s AN Sinha Institute, stated Muslim voters make their selections properly.
“There isn’t any doubt that Muslims know the place to vote and the way to not waste their votes. The RJD has a lot larger traction than the AIMIM among the many Muslims. However Owaisi is a hero among the many youths and he can spoil it (for the RJD) within the Seemanchal space like in 2020 as he has taken a powerful place on the Waqf invoice. But when they combat collectively, the NDA may endure.”
Addressing a rally 3 Could within the Seemanchal area, Owaisi urged individuals to show a lesson to the NDA and the RJD within the upcoming polls. He claimed his get together would win all 24 seats within the Seemanchal area this time.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Additionally Learn: Why is toddy politics fermenting churn in ‘dry’ state Bihar? Reply lies in UP’s Lok Sabha outcomes
