Owaisi ready for Raj debut, eyes 40 seats with Muslim & Dalit presence
Hyderabad: Gearing up for his party’s Rajasthan debut, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is keen on stitching up an alliance with political parties with considerable influence over Dalits in the desert state.
Elections to the 200-member Rajasthan assembly are scheduled later this year and AIMIM is focusing on 40 assembly constituencies with maximum Muslim and Dalit electorate. The Owaisi-led party has already made security of Muslims as a key poll plank, following the murder of Junaid and Ansari allegedly by gau rakshaks.
AIMIM Rajasthan state president Jameel Khan said a series of public meetings by Owaisi are planned in various districts of Rajasthan. While AIMIM is accused of contesting elections in various states to cut into the vote-bank of Congress and other secular parties to benefit BJP, Owaisi has assiduously stated he will not stop unless Muslims have their own political in the country.
Though votes polled by AIMIM in Uttar Pradesh was just 0.43%, political analysts said entry of AIMIM in Rajasthan’s assembly polls will definitely help BJP. AIMIM may or may not garner a significant chunk of vote share that dents Congress prospects, but bjp benefits from polarisation of Hindu votes, analysts said. There are 40 assembly constituencies with Muslim concentration in areas of Alwar, Bharatpur, Sawai, Madhopur, Tonk, Barmer and Mewat. In 2018 polls, Congress won 29 of 40 seats followed by BJP in 7 seats, BSP in 3 and an independent. Later, BSP and an independent sailed with Congress.
Courtesy : TOI
Note: This news piece was originally published in timesofindia.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights.