Gujarat elections: AIMIM is not a 'vote katua party', asserts Asaduddin Owaisi

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi has denied that his party's role in the next month's Gujarat Assembly elections would be to eat into the Congress's vote share.

In an interview to PTI, Owaisi denied AIMIM's role is that of a "vote katua" (vote-cutter) party and blamed the Congress for the BJP's long run in power in Gujarat.

"Why is the Congress levelling allegations against us? Is it to hide its own deficiencies? The BJP has been in power in Gujarat for the last 27 years, only Congress was in the opposition. Who had stopped Congress from defeating the BJP, and why had they failed to defeat them for nearly three decades? The Congress must first answer this question," he said.


The Congress has accused both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the AIMIM as being the "B-teams" of the BJP.

"Let me make this clear, we are not here to eat into anyone's vote share. We are here to fight against the BJP," Owaisi said.

The AIMIM was contesting elections in Gujarat like any other political party, he said. The party is entering the fray for Assembly polls in Gujarat for the first time and is contesting in 13 out of 182 seats.

The seats the AIMIM is contesting are Muslim-dominated areas which have been traditionally Congress strongholds.

Accusing the BJP of trying to vitiate the atmosphere by creating an "anti-Muslim narrative", the four-time MP from Hyderabad said the issue of UCC was raised deliberately during the campaign.

"They are raising such issues to create a communal narrative. The BJP is trying to bring in Uniform Civil Code for Muslims, and for Hindus it will be the Hindu Code. They are trying to divide the people," he said.

The BJP leaders also speak about Aaftab Poonawala, who is accused of brutally killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walker in Delhi, during the campaign for the same reason, he alleged.

Crime against women should not be linked to any religion, he said.