All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has won 11 seats in the Nanded civic polls and plans to nominate candidates in the coming assembly elections in Marathwada which has a substantial minority population.
In what may be troublesome for the Congress, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM or MIM) has won 11 seats in the Nanded civic polls and plans to nominate candidates in the coming assembly elections in Marathwada which has a substantial minority population.
The Andhra Pradesh-based AIMIM, which campaigned against the picking up of Muslim youth from Marathwada for allegedly having links with terrorists, and against the violence in Assam, contested the polls in alliance with the Samvidhan Party which won two seats.
The alliance which contested 41 seats took a significant chunk of Muslim votes in the elections, where the Congress under former chief minister Ashok Chavan managed to win. Earlier, the AIMIM had just one corporator elected in a by-poll.
Marathwada which was earlier a part of the Nizam state comprising Andhra Pradesh has a strong Muslim presence and accounts for 46 of the 288 state assembly segments. Of these, the Congress holds the highest number of seats at 18.
“The Congress has betrayed the people of Maharashtra especially the Dalits, Muslims and the OBCs,” said Syed Moin, AIMIM Nanded district chief, adding that Muslims had poor political representation despite comprising around 14% of the population. He said that they would nominate candidates in Marathwada for the 2014 assembly polls.
“The AIMIM has increased its base as the minorities feel the Congress takes their votes and betrays them in return,” said Suresh Gaikwad of the Samvidhan Party, adding that the Dalit- Muslim combination had worked for their alliance. “The Congress leadership in Marathwada is only in the hands of the Maratha community despite the party getting elected based on Dalit and Muslim votes,” he added.
However, former minister of state, Abdul Sattar, who is a Congress MLA from Aurangabad district, charged that the AIMIM had focused on “emotional and inflammatory issues.” “This success is only temporary,” he said.
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