To see a change, must be part of it: AIMIM's Imtiaz Jaleel

While the hardline AIMIM is looking for its maiden political opening in the Maharashtra assembly, journalist Imtiaz Jaleelhas created a flutter by throwing his hat into the ring as a nominee of the party from Aurangabad (Central) where he will face-off with Shiv Sena MLA Pradip Jaiswal, Kishenchand Tanwani (BJP), MM Shaikh (Congress) and Vinod Patil (NCP). In an interview to Dhaval Kulkarni of dna, Jaleelspeaks about his decision to take the plunge and his political choices.

Why did you join politics?
Ever since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls I got a sense that there was a huge dent on the credibility of the media as a whole. I belong to Aurangabad and I realised that the same dirty politics was played by the main political parties here. The city has been unable to get its due. All political parties like the Congress, NCP, BJP are similar. I had left the city 11 years ago and then, the city had huge potential to grow and was rated as the among the fastest growing in Asia. Today, it is worse than Nanded and Latur. I feel that if you want a change, you must be part of it.

Why the AIMIM? Specially since the party has a hardline image with Akbaruddin Owaisi being known for communal speeches.
Fact is, every other community and caste has a political party of its own. The Muslims are in a minority but have a huge population. The Congress has not given tickets to representatives of Muslims and Dalits. Even if tickets are given, they ensure that they do not win. The Congress and NCP do not want leaders from the masses to take oath in the Parliament and assembly. In Marathwada, Muslims are with the AIMIM for various reasons. I have spoken to the Owaisi brothers, especially Asaduddin and they are clear that they have not entered Maharashtra or other states for hate politics but to provide the community with a voice and leaders who care about the people. The Shiv Sena attacked Muslims in its initial years. But this type of politics does not last long, it will have to come down to the real issues. The AIMIM has realised that the time has come to concentrate on real issues. There is not a single instance of hate speech in Akbaruddin Owaisi's rallies in Maharashtra.

What is your agenda for Aurangabad?
There are too many things to do. There are two Aurangabads, one which has all facilities and the other one, which has no facilities like water, good roads, sanitation and open play grounds. No one seems to be bothered with real issues. The city has tourism and industry potential but this has been stopped due to communal politics and politics of convenience.

Dont you think that the liberal Hindus are the most sincere allies of the common Muslim than hardline organisations?
There are many Hindus supporting me. They say they don't approve of some things of the AIMIM but support me as an individual. If Imtiaz Jaleel had contested on a Shiv Sena ticket, he would have been branded as ultra-secular. The Muslim youth in the country need direction, a leader who can guide them in the right direction. Otherwise, it will be easy for leaders to misguide them.