Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which has been striving to spread its wings into other states, especially in North India, has floated a secular alliance with Samajwadi Janata Dal party for the forthcoming state assembly elections in Bihar.
MIM, which made its debut in Bihar assembly in 2019 when its candidate won Kishangunj assembly seat, has now decided to contest a large number of assembly seats.
MIM President and member of Parliament from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi announced the formation of United Democratic Secular alliance by joining hands with SJD headed by former union minister Devender Prasad Yadav.
Addressing a press conference in Patna, along with Yadav, Owaisi rejected the allegation that by contesting elections in Bihar, MIM will benefit the BJP. “In 2019 general elections MIM had contested only one Lok Sabha seat. I want to ask how many seats RJD (of Lalu Prasad Yadav) contested and how many seats it won? In Kishangunj we secured 300,000 votes and Congress won the seat”, Owaisi said.
He demanded to know from the RJD and other secular parties how the BJP managed to won 39 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats when the MIM had contested only one seat of Kishangunj.
MIM supremo said that the efforts will continue to enlarge the secular alliance and seat sharing formula was yet to be finalized. “We welcome other parties to join the alliance and the convenor of the alliance Devender Yadav was talking to other parties”, he added.
Lashing out at the Nitish Kumar government of Bihar Owaisi said that in 2015 assembly elections people had voted against the BJP but Kumar betrayed their mandate and joined hands with the BJP to form the government.
Earlier the MIM had announced that it would contest 50 assembly seats but the final number was likely to be less.
