AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi is busy expanding his party across India. Their presence in several states has created unease among political parties that had hitherto considered members of the minority community as their core “vote bank”. Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police has not given permission to the AIMIM rally to be held at Mumbai’s MMRDA Ground on November 27 in Maharashtra. In this rally, Owaisi was going to communicate with the public on many other issues ranging from Muslim reservation. The reason behind not giving permission is believed to be the fear of Mahavikas Aghadi in Maharashtra. This fear is also justified because Owaisi’s support base in Maharashtra has increased over time and the party has already got the tag of ‘Vote Katwa Party’. The reason for not giving permission suddenly is also the upcoming civic elections in Maharashtra.
Owaisi’s announcement
Municipal elections are to be held in Maharashtra. The AIMIM chief had announced to contest all the seats in this election. This announcement was made by Owaisi during his two-day visit to Aurangabad. Now this announcement was to create a stir in the political parties of Maharashtra, especially those parties which are afraid of division of votes. The influence of Owaisi’s party has increased in Maharashtra in the last few years, which is a matter of concern.
What have been the records of AIMIM?
- Owaisi’s party first came into the limelight in the politics of Maharashtra in the year 2012. Then this party had won 11 out of 81 seats in Nanded Municipal Corporation elections. Here Congress and NCP are two such parties which Muslims have traditionally supported. One thing that emerged from this result was that the Muslims of the state were looking for a better alternative which they saw in Owaisi’s party.
- The year the party won the October 2014 Maharashtra Assembly elections in Byculla and Aurangabad. After this victory, a leader of AIMIM had said in his statement that the election results proved that “People are tired of false promises made by other parties and they only want development.”
- In 2015, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) fielded 54 candidates in the 113-seat Municipal Corporation of Aurangabad, out of which 25 won. With this victory, this party had emerged as the second largest party in terms of performance. The AIMIM then, with 25 seats, came second behind Shiv Sena’s 29, while the BJP won 22 seats.
- In 2017, Owaisi’s party again surprised everyone with its performance by winning two out of 227 seats in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. At the same time, AIMIM had won five seats in the Solapur Municipal Corporation elections.
In how many seats is the Muslim population affected?
According to the 2011 census, Maharashtra’s 1.3 crore Muslims constitute 11.56 per cent of the state’s 11.24 crore population. The Muslim community plays an important role in 14 Lok Sabha constituencies which include six seats in Dhule, Nanded, Parbhani, Latur, Aurangabad, Bhiwandi, Akola, Thane and Mumbai. Even though Muslims have traditionally supported the Congress-NCP, there is a growing sense of distance within the community from Congress-BJP politics. The rise of Owaisi’s party in the state has given Muslims another option to choose from. Its effect is also visible in the elections. Be it Aurangabad or Nanded Owaisi has only worked to increase the concern of NCP and Congress with his performance.
Issues like cleanliness, water problem, traffic, parking, redevelopment and traffic are very important issues for the Muslims of the state and Owais is attacking on this.
The way Owaisi is raising the issue of giving reservation to 50 castes of the Muslim community before the Maharashtra civic elections, the Muslim community may unite and stand with All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. In Maharashtra, other parties are seen arguing about Maratha reservation. Meanwhile, the issue of reservation for Muslims has given sleep to those parties which were concerned about the Muslim vote bank. If you consider, AIMIM party under Owaisi’s leadership has the power to reduce the influence of parties like Congress NCP in the state.
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