AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi appears to be determined to increase his vote bank across the country. For starters, he retained all the seats in GHMC elections, barring one or two seats. Then there was the winning of 5 seats in Bihar.
Now, Owaisi has tied up with Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj party’s Om Prakash Rajbhar in Uttar Pradesh. With the state being presently under the BJP rule preparing for assembly elections in 2022, Owaisi is putting forth his stake in one of the largest and populous states of the country.
His alliance with small parties in UP is a step in this direction. Owaisi stated that he will also meet with Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party chief Shivpal Yadav. Incidentally, Shivpal is the younger brother of Samajwadi party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav. Shivpal floated his own party after a fall-out with his nephew Akhilesh Yadav.
The latest development comes after AAP announced that it will be contesting in UP elections in 2022. Rajbhar happens to be convenor of Ek Manch Alliance. When the media questioned Owaisi about contesting UP polls, he said he would work under the leadership of Rajbhar.
Well, this surely indicates that Owaisi is hell-bent on extending his party AIMIM’s base in northern states and ensure that the Muslim vote bank counts.
In an earlier statement, Owaisi said, “So far you have only dealt with obedient Mir Jaffers & Sadiqs. You don’t like Muslims who think & speak for themselves. You have insulted our voters in Bihar. Remember what happened to parties in Bihar that kept blaming their failures on “vote cutters”. Muslim voters aren’t your jagir.” It was a direct hit at the BJP, which is also trying to establish itself pan-India.