AMN / Patna
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen AIMIM, led by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has won four and is leading in one assembly seats in Bihar, where votes are still being counted late into the night. AIMIM, had entered Bihar in 2019 after winning by-elections in five seats.
“In politics, you learn from your mistake. Our Bihar chief personally met with each and every leader of political parties. No one was ready to touch us. Big parties treated me like an untouchable… Our party president met every important Muslim leader as well. But nothing worked out. Cannot tell you why it didn’t happen,” Mr Owaisi said, adding he expected the party would perform better.
The AIMIM will decide later which party it will support, Mr Owaisi told NDTV.
“It’s a very good day for our political party. People of Bihar have voted for us and given us their blessings. I don’t know how I can thank them,” Mr Owaisi told reporters this evening. “We will work for the people and focus on flood-affected areas. I want to thank people for coming out and vote for us despite the pandemic. We must be lacking in something, due to which we didn’t win more seats yet. We will sit together and work on the issues and win the seats next time,” Mr Owaisi said.
Given his aversion to the BJP, Mr Owaisi could be more than willing to lend a helping hand to the Grand Alliance if it falls short of a majority by a few seats.
Mr Owaisi’s party said people who called his party a “vote-cutter” have got a solid reply.
Asaduddin Owaisi, said that the decision of alliance will come after the results are declared. ALSO READ | Bihar Election Results: RJD Alleges Poll Fraud, Says 119 Winning Candidates Denied Certificates
“The decision will be taken only after the final results of the Bihar Election are declared. Our fight is for development of Seemanchal (Bihar) which is one of the most backward areas of India,” Asaduddin Owaisi said on being asked if AIMIM will join hands with RJD to form government in Bihar.
As the counting of votes is still underway and NDA is fighting neck-to-neck with the RJD-led Grand Alliance, Owaisi’s AIMIM could play a key role once the election result is out.
With the speculation that AIMIM may join hands with the Grand Alliance post-poll. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a senior Congress leader, described Owaisi as a “vote-cutter” and asked secular parties to be “alert” about him.
“BJP’s tact of using (Asaduddin) Owaisi Sahab’s party in the Bihar elections has succeeded to an extent. All secular parties should be alert about vote-cutter Owaisi Sahab,” he was quoted.
Responding to allegations leveled against the AIMIM of being a “vote-cutter”, the AIMIM spokesperson Asim Waqar told the media, “Those calling us that have got a befitting reply and their mouths will now be shut in the future as well.”
Speaking about the post-poll alliance, the AIMIM spokesperson Asim Waqar made it clear that the party was not going anywhere with the BJP.