AIMIM opens ticket in Bihar, while retrieving only two seats in Maharashtra

Mumbai: The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won only two seats in Maharashtra elections, out of the 44 candidates the party fielded. However, Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi-led party sprung a surprise in the by-polls in Bihar.

Taking many by surprise, AIMIM candidate Qamrul Hoda fielded from Kishanganj constituency, emerged as the dark horse. He won with a decent majority of 19,885 votes over his nearest BJP rival Sweety Singh. The party’s win in Bihar has sent out a signal that it has finally established a foothold in the state’s politics, unlike earlier elections where it faced defeat.

In the Maharashtra elections, the Malegaon and Dhule seat went into AIMIM’s kitty. Mohammad Ismail Abdul Khalique won with a decent margin of 38,519 votes in Malegaon Central, while Shah Faruk Anwar won from Dhule.

In the initial hours of counting, the party was leading in Aurangabad and Solapur Central However, as counting continued, AIMIM won Maharashtra and candidates lost their lead to their competitors. If sources are to be believed, Asaduddin Owaisi is reportedly upset with the Maharashtra results.

Reportedly, the party expected to win a high number of seats owing to the sizeable chunk of the Muslim population, especially in Aurangabad Central and Byculla, which the party won in 2014. However, the party had to settle at number two in both spots. In the 2019 general elections, AIMIM fought a lonely battle, as it backed out from the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) alliance.

Update #ElectionResults2019 - AIMIM candidate Shah Faruk Anwar has won from Dhule City. #HumariJamaatHumariAwaaz#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/WqZhwjjdpv

— AIMIM (@aimim_national) October 24, 2019

In total, AIMIM is represented by two legislators in the state assembly and one parliamentarian in the Lok Sabha. Besides Hyderabad that elected Asaduddin Owaisi, Aurangabad is the only other Lok Sabha seat that the party has won.

Speaking to NewsMeter, Imtiaz Jaleel, representing AIMIM, said, “We are happy that we retrieved two seats, though from different constituency when compared to the previous elections.”