By winning five seats, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party has made a strong impact in Bihar politics. When the discussions on the 2020 Bihar elections began, AIMIM president Asaddudin Owaisi had opened all his cards for gaining alliance with all political parties.
Owaisi had announced his willingness to unite with all opposition parties to the BJP in Bihar. There was no single party which expressed interest at that time. Political parties in Bihar assumed that Owaisi’s party had no support base. However, by winning five seats, Owaisi has succeeded in proving his party's strength, surprising the BJP. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) went to the extent of blaming Owaisi for having scuttled its chance of forming a majority government.
Owaisi entered the poll arena in Bihar alone. He released a list of 20 candidates and later as the political scenario began to change he formed an alliance with six other political parties called the Grand Democratic Secular Front. Others who joined this front included Samajwadi Janata Dal Democratic, Upendra Kushwaha’s RLSP, Bahujan Samaj Party, Suhaildev Bharatiya Samajwadi Party and Jantantrik Socialist Party. After the formation of the Grand Democratic Secular Front, Owaisi got 22 seats to contest on which barring the youth president of the party, Owaisi’s party contested on 21 seats and won five of them.
The seats won by Owaisi’s party include Kochadhaman, Jokihat, Baisi, Bahadurganj and Amaur. Owaisi’s party came to the spotlight after the election results were declared when the RJD accused Owaisi of being responsible for helping the NDA led by the BJP form a government. This accusation is based on the seats won by Owaisi’s party, says Rashtriya Janata Dal’s state president Jagadanand Singh in an interview with ETV Bharat.
Congress, RJD dominated between 2000 and 2005
If we look at the results of 2000 elections, Jokihat and Baisi seats were won by the RJD while Bahadurganj and Amaur seats were won the Congress. Kochadhaman seat was not formed at the time. In the 2005 February election, Kochadhan seat was won by the JDU while the Baisi was won by the RJD, Bahadurganj by an independent and Amaur by the Congress.
In 2005 October too RJD, Congress dominated
There was Nitish Kumar wave in the elections held in October 2005 and Bihar witnessed change. Jokihat was won by JDU while an independent won the Baisi seat and Bahadurganj, Amaur seats were won by the Congress.
RJD, Congress were strong on these seats in 2010 and 2015
Even when in 2010, Nitish Kumar’s development wave existed, Kochadhaman seat was won by RJD. Jokihat went to JDU, Baisi to BJP while Bahadurganj remained with the Congress. In the 2015 election, Kochadhaman and Jokihat seats were won by JDU, while Baisi went to RJD and Bahadurganj and Amaur seats were held by the Congress.
Read: AIMIM proposes alliance with TMC in forthcoming Bengal polls
Owaisi caused more damage to RJD and Congress
In the 2020 election, AIMIM captured Kochadhaman, Jokihat, Baisi, Bahadurganj and Amaur seats. Out of these it snatched away three seats from the Grand Alliance and two from JDU. The victory of AIMIM on these five seats was not only heartrending to the RJD but also the fact that Owaisi’s party also gained the Dalit, OBC and Muslim support on 16 other seats where they had contested elections. Owaisi has scored victory on seats which were considered strongholds of RJD and leaders like Taslimuddin used to be a source of RJD’s strength in the region. In the changed political scenario, even Taslimuddin has lost clout.
Owaisi’s reply to RJD’s charge
To the allegation levelled by Bihar RJD president Jagadanand Singh, Owaisi said when Bihar was preparing for elections, he had knocked the doors of all non-BJP parties and appealed to them to unite under one banner to stop Narendra Modi but no political party heeded to his appeal. Therefore, it is wrong to level such allegation at this stage. If at all RJD has missed the opportunity of coming to power, only its policy has to be blamed.
Political influence of Owaisi’s party
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen had appealed to all opposition parties to unite to stop Narendra Modi but no party paid any heed to the appeal. It is not that this is a new party. The party has been strengthening itself, though based in Hyderabad. It has been winning the Lok Sabha seat of Hyderabad since 1984 while the present mayor of Hyderabad also belongs to it.
The party was founded in 1928 by Nawab Mahmud Nawaz Khan who had advocated the formation of a Muslim state of Hyderabad. Hyderabad was merged with India in 1948. After 1957 the prefix of All India was added to the name of the organization. After Kasim Rizvi migrated to Pakistan, famous advocate Abdul Wahid Owaisi became the party’s chief.
After Abdul Wahid, Salahuddin Owaisi became its chief and now his son Asaduddin Owaisi is the president of the party and an MP. The party has been trying to expand its base outside Hyderabad and has emerged as a challenge to other political parties. The party is slowly gaining a foothold in all the states of the country.
After winning the Nanded municipal corporation and marking its presence in Bihar assembly, Owaisi’s party has added a new dimension in the political equation where there are coalition governments. Had the Grand Alliance understood the importance of Owaisi, it would have perhaps formed government in Bihar.
Also read: Owaisi party entry into Bengal likely to unsettle TMC's sway over minorities
