AIMIM going places; gears up for Bengaluru civic polls

The All India Majlise-Ittehadul Muslimeen party that hails from the land of Nizam headed by Asaduddin Owaisi is literally going places.

After flourishing and creating a perpetual position in Hyderabad over the years, Owaisi’s party is beginning to make its presence felt in the other parts of India now.

AIMIM has already set foot in the Maratha land by winning two out of the twenty five seats it contested in the Maharashtra’s assembly polls in 2014 and had given some serious competition to some of the established parties there.

This was soon followed by the party’s remarkable victory in the Aurangabad Municipal elections, where AIMIM emerged as the runner up securing half the seats.

In the latest developments of the party, Owaisi said that they will be contesting twenty nine seats in the Bengaluru civic body elections to be held on August 22.

However the Siddaramaiah government has not given him permission to hold any public meeting or a Padyathra stating Owaisi will ignite communal politics in the state.

Owaisi slammed the Siddaramaiah government for this move and said “In Bengaluru and Uttar Pradesh, I have been stopped. This shows the dictatorial attitude of the Siddaramaiah government. When assembly elections are held under the Election Commission of India, my party will contest in Bengaluru and wherever else in Karnataka we can contest. I challenge Siddaramaiah to stop me then. Only by taking my life, he can stop me,"

In an interview to a news channel, the 46-year-old London educated lawyer spoke about the party’s expansion plan and said "Expansion plans of any political party are very natural. Every political party would want to expand. In a democracy that is not something very surprising,"

On the other hand the party is constantly scrutunised for being a Muslim brand wagon on the political front. The party is accused of playing communal politics by flattering Muslims for votes and brain washing them against other parties with strong communal opinions.

On allegations of dividing the minority votes of other political parties by the Congress, the AIMIM chief argued that Congress is just being arrogant.

Lashing out at the Congress party during an interview, he said "It is the Muslims who supported them (Congress) earlier. We lost our masjid, we lost our businesses and homes in communal riots... What are they talking about? Only if we fight under their umbrella can we fight the RSS and the BJP. What have they done to stop the RSS and the BJP? How did Modi get 280 seats in 2014? They have lost every election since 2014.’’

Owaisi also rubbished claims of AIMIM being a Muslim-only party. He declared “‘Mine is not a Muslim party. That is completely wrong and a misinformation campaign. I have fielded non-Muslim candidates everywhere, including Dalits and OBCs. Three of the party's mayors in Hyderabad were Hindu’’. 
Asaduddin Owaisi along with his family and party workers has planted AIIMIM on the state map by gaining positions from Hyderabad to various Municipalities across Telangana.

The present Greater Hyderabad Mayor Majid Hussain is also his party’s affiliate.

Owaisi established AIMIM in Andhra Pradesh too with a win in the Adoni Municipalty of Kurnool District.

Other than this the party has significant representation in the local bodies of Bidar and Basavakalyan along with Maharashtra and Aurangabad.

With a conspicuous attendance in these states Owaisi now plans to mark his territory in Karnataka.

How The AIMIM will fare in the upcoming Bengaluru polls will be an interesting contest to watch out for.