Along with the Jharkhand and Maharashtra assembly elections being held at the end of 2024, the credibility of Asaduddin Owaisi’s party AIMIM is also at stake in the Bihar-UP by-elections. If Owaisi’s party is not able to perform well in the elections being held at the end of the year, then its dream of becoming a national party will suffer a major setback. Since 2014, Owaisi has been busy expanding his party All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen outside Hyderabad.
This is the reason why Owaisi has taken a lot of precautions this time from campaign to candidate selection. This time Owaisi’s party has fielded candidates on those seats where Muslims are in the role of game changers.
The biggest clash in Maharashtra
Maharashtra is the first major state politically, where Asaduddin Owaisi’s party won after Hyderabad. In 2019, Owaisi’s party won the Aurangabad seat of Maharashtra. Its 2 MLAs reached the House after winning the assembly elections.
Maharashtra, which has 11.5 percent Muslim population, has at least 40 assembly seats where Muslims are the X factor. In many areas of Aurangabad, Osmanabad and Mumbai, Muslims decide their role in victory and defeat.
In such a situation, Owaisi had prepared a big plan for expansion here. However, this time his path is not easy. Owaisi’s party could not win a single seat in the Lok Sabha elections 2024. The reason for this was the one-sided political move of the Muslims.
Before the assembly elections, Owaisi’s party kept demanding to join the India alliance, but Congress and Shiv Shiv Sena (UBT) did not give any expression. Now Owaisi’s candidates are trying to win in Maharashtra through emotional cards.
Recently, a video of Waris Pathan has surfaced, in which he is crying bitterly while pleading to vote. Waris is a candidate from Bhiwandi seat.
AIMIM in fray on 2 seats of UP
Asaduddin Owaisi’s party is also trying its best in the UP by-elections. The party is contesting elections on 2 seats. AIMIM has fielded candidates on Meerapur in Muzaffarnagar and Kundarki in Moradabad. The key to both the seats is in the hands of Muslim voters.
Owaisi has campaigned in a firebrand manner at both the places. Owaisi has his eyes on Uttar Pradesh since the 2022 assembly elections, but till now Owaisi has not been successful in the country’s largest state.
The population of Muslims in UP is about 20 percent. In the 2024 elections, a large population of Muslims shifted towards the India alliance, which caused direct loss to Owaisi and his allies.
Litmus test of popularity in Bihar also
In the 2020 assembly elections, Asaduddin Owaisi’s party won 5 seats in Bihar. 4 MLAs later fled towards RJD. Owaisi fielded strongly in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but he could not get success.
The by-elections for 4 seats being held before the assembly elections are being considered as the semi-finals of power. Owaisi has also jumped into the race for this semi-final. It is being said that Owaisi wants to conduct a litmus test of his popularity before the elections.
The population of Muslims in Bihar is around 17 percent, which affects more than 50 assembly seats.
