The critics of the party claim that despite its initial successes, the AIMIM has been unable to secure major victories in civic polls like those at Malegaon, Bhiwandi- Nizampur and even Mumbai (where it has just two corporators)
Five years ago, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) made a swashbuckling entry into Maharashtra's politics by winning 11 seats in the Nanded- Waghala municipal corporation elections. The party went on to win two seats in the state assembly in 2014.
However, the wheel seems to have turned full circle for the party led by the Hyderabad-based Owaisi brothers after its decimation in the polls in the town located in Marathwada, which is the stronghold of former Congress chief minister Ashok Chavan.
The critics of the party claim that despite its initial successes, the AIMIM has been unable to secure major victories in civic polls like those at Malegaon, Bhiwandi- Nizampur and even Mumbai (where it has just two corporators). They claim that the AIMIM's exclusivist Muslim politics may have run its course as the Nanded results indicated with these voters shifting back to the Congress.
"The support base for the party in Maharashtra still exists," said AIMIM MLA from Aurangabad, Imtiaz Jaleel, adding that the rallies by the Owaisi brothers had seen huge crowds in Nanded. He stated that the AIMIM had significant corporators in municipal bodies like Aurangabad, Omerga, Shahada, Malkapur, Yavatmal and Amravati.
However, an AIMIM leader said that the party's downfall in Nanded was because of the "working style" of some leaders and efforts taken by the Congress to wean away their corporators. Of the 11 corporators elected in 2012, eight defected to the Congress and seven of them won as nominees of the grand old party.
Shabbir Ansari of the influential All India Muslim OBC Organisation said that the image of the AIMIM as a spoiler, which eventually helped the BJP, may have turned the tide.
"When a party or a political ideology makes a political opening, it manages to attract people for a while. The AIMIM captured the attention (of Muslim youth) based on the fire-and-brimstone speeches of their leaders, but they had little to show for their performance," noted a senior Congress leader who belongs to the Muslim community.
He added that Muslims felt they were being used for votes while getting little in return, politically and socially, which led to the AIMIM generating an appeal. "Secular parties like the Congress must promote grassroot Muslim leaders. Even in the state cabinet, Muslim leaders get secondary portfolios like textiles but not important ones like revenue, home and PWD," he explained.
The Congress leader however added that exclusivist Muslim politics would have little appeal in Maharashtra unlike other states and lamented that the secular parties had done little to combat rising majoritarian right-wing forces.
Despite having the fourth largest Muslim population (10.6%) after Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar, with substantial numbers in regions like Mumbai, Marathwada, Vidarbha and North Maharashtra, Maharashtra has just nine Muslim legislators, down from 10 in 2009.
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