Bihar elections: Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM to contest only in six assembly seats

NEW DELHI: Till the other day Asaduddin Owaisi, leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen ( AIMIM), was the toast of television debates with several analysts projecting him as “the secret weapon that will divide the Muslim votes across Bihar” and “game spoiler in the secular pitch”.

Just then, Owaisi hit what can be called a ‘silencing sixer’ by announcing that all that his party would contest in Bihar is just six assembly seats in the Purnia district of Seemanchal.

Even as Owaisi watchers in Delhi political circles are making hush-hush queries about what had actually prompted this anti-climax twist in the tale, the man plays it cool. “Mind you, neither me nor my party ever said we would be contesting all seats in Bihar and campaigning all over the state. Our decision, based on our political assessment, is clear that we will contest and campaign only in six seats in the Purnia district,” Owaisi told ET from Kishanganj.

“Now, let those who have been making all baseless claims about our electoral plans explain on what ground they were doing so. In fact, they should apologise for spreading all sort of malicious rumours about me and my party’s electoral plans in Bihar,” he said. He said such things would not deter him. “The same kind of false campaign was unleashed against Kanshi Ram when he started expanding the base of BSP and against Arvind Kejriwal when the AAP entered the electoral plank,” Owaisi said.

Owaisi said its first priority was to ensure victory of its six candidates. “We will fight these seats on a plank for the development of Purnia and Seemanchal as all other parties — be it JD(U) or RJD or BJP — had ignored the developmental needs of this region,” he said.

“In the constituencies where we are not contesting, the AIMIM supporters will vote for the candidate of a secular party or a secular combination in order to ensure the defeat of the BJP,” he added. Owaisi denied that other parties or community leaders put any pressure on his party to either scale up or scale down its electoral project in Bihar.