All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) which is eyeing a greater share for the party across India has decided to contest from a few select seats in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar. Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM Chief, himself openly announced at a recent meeting that his party will be contesting Andhra Pradesh, warning AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu that “Chandrudu…I’m coming to Andhra.” AIMIM’s contest in AP is also part of TRS Chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao return gift to the TDP Chief.
Similarly, in Maharashtra, the party is mulling over an alliance with Ambedkarite-ideology party Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh for the Aurangabad seat (Lok Sabha seat) and in Aurangabad and Nanded, constituencies that have a significant Muslim population. In the state, it aims to split the Congress and NCP vote by putting pressure on them.
On the other hand, the party will be contesting from Kishanganj (Lok Sabha seat) in Bihar to test waters in the state. Earlier, the party had contested from 38 seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2017 but didn’t make any headway there and faced a similar fate in Andhra Pradesh in 2014 Assembly elections.
The party has 7 MLAs in Telangana, 2 MLAs in Maharashtra while it has one MP, Owaisi himself, from Hyderabad. The party is upbeat about playing a role in K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s Federal Front and believes that it could continue its influence over TRS even if decided to be part of the Front. Looks like MIM’s ambitions are soaring high!
