MIM will work to strengthen base in Uttar Pradesh: Asaduddin Owaisi

HYDERABAD: Though his party drew a blank in the Uttar Pradesh elections, MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi today said it respects the verdict of the electorate and vowed to continue efforts to strengthen the party in the crucial state.

"My purpose was to fight polls. We will keep up our efforts. We will work hard," Owaisi, MP from Hyderabad, said.

Though the MIM did not make any major impact in the UP polls, Owaisi said he would continue efforts to strengthen the party in the state.

Referring to BSP chief Mayawati writing a letter to Election Commission over alleged irregularities in EVMs, Owaisi hoped that the poll panel would reply to her concerns.

The UP poll outcome dismissed the theory of a Muslim vote bank and also the allegation that MIM cut into the votes of "secular parties", he told reporters here.

Noting that his party fought in only 35 seats in the 403-member House in UP, he asked where did the votes of "secular parties go" in an election that saw BJP winning 312 seats.

The data on voting would prove that majority of the minorities did not vote for BJP, he claimed.

Owaisi also took an apparent dig at the BJP, saying, "login name is development, but password is Hindutva".