Bihar Polls: Owaisi gains popularity in Seemanchal

KISHANGANJ: Mohammad Faraz articulates Asaduddin Owaisi’s appeal the best. "If he wins, it will be like Hyderabad." By he, Faraz means Hyderabad-based Owaisi’s party All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) which is contesting six assembly seats in north-eastern Bihar that go to polls in the last phase on November 5.

The 25-year-old Faraz has traveled 120 km from Katihar to meet Owaisi, who has made the Chanchal Palace hotel in Kishanganj his headquarters. Five years ago he had traveled to Hyderabad with cricketing dreams in his hazel eyes. He did not make it in cricket but in the city he saw the influence Owaisi had and experienced a sense of power and security that his native Katihar did not offer. He now wants his community to have the same sense of power in Bihar.

"The Bihari workers in Hyderabad have been urging me to contest from their state for many years," Owaisi tells ET as he prepares to begin another day of hectic campaigning.

Owaisi had no plans of fighting elections in Bihar until a year ago. That changed when Lalu Prasad attacked him in a speech at Jantar Mantar in Delhi last December. Lalu said Owaisi was misguiding Muslim youth and was doing the work of RSS.