For the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen ( MIM ), entering the electoral battle in Maharashtra was a calculated last minute gamble that paid off.

It was a last minute decision because the party was not sure how many candidates it would be able to field in the assembly elections. It was only mulling putting up a couple of candidates from Nanded where it had won 11 out of 81 municipal wards in 2012.

But the change in political scenario at the national level and the aggressive stand taken by the Maharashtra government to block the entry of party president, Asaduddin Owaisi, and floor leader in the Telangana state assembly, Akbaruddin Owaisi, into the Marathwada region gave a feeling to the MIM top brass that this could be the right time to try their luck.

In July (it was the holy month of Ramzan) the Owaisi brothers had planned to attend a few Iftar parties in Aurangabad and other places but the police did not entertain their plea. The anti-MIM stand taken by the Congress-led government in Maharashtra did not go down well with the party president who felt that the Congress was unnecessarily targeting his party, despite it being an ally. The already-strained relations between the Congress and the MIM developed more cracks thereafter.

Meanwhile, the Owaisi brothers kept pushing their case and police resistance began wearing out. The result was a noticeable increase in MIM's popularity.

In fact, some observers believe that MIM's fortunes started changing after the alleged hate speech delivered by Akbaruddin in Adilabad in 2012 and his subsequent incarceration for over a month. The party got another shot in the arm when Asaduddin was arrested and sent to jail in 2013. A large number of Muslims who were not MIM supporters began veering towards the party.

They say that Asaduddin wanted to use the recently held assembly elections as ground to prepare and try winning some seats in 2019. He was aware that the party had no formidable leadership in Maharashtra, no experienced cadre and, most importantly, lacked the money power that Congress, NCP, BJP and the Shiv Sena had. In spite of all these handicaps, he took the plunge when he and his brother witnessed surging crowds during their visits made in June and July.

After the disappearance of the Muslim League from Mumbai's political scene following the death of stalwarts such as G M Banatwala and Ibrahim Sulaiman Seth, the Samajwadi Party tried to fill that gap by espousing causes concerning the Muslims. It failed to make much success. The Muslims, hugely disenchanted with the Congress and the NCP, continued to support them in large numbers only because there was no viable alternative. The breaking of the Congress-NCP alliance, threw up space that MIM could fill.

Given MIM had no time to run a check on those aspiring for a ticket and select the ones with more potential, it almost randomly picked up candidates for 24 seats mainly in Marathwada and Mumbai and lent support to one contestant, Gangadhar Gade, of the Panthers Republican Party.

The MIM allied with the Dalits and gave half a dozen tickets to them. It brought down the shrill during the campaign and focused more on the callousness of the Congress and the NCP in dealing with issues concerning the Muslims. They said that the government had not taken any action following the Sri Krishna Committee report on the 1992-93 communal riots and highlighted how subsequent governments, despite constituting several commissions to study the social, economic and political situation of the 14% Muslim population in Maharashtra, did nothing to ameliorate their plight. They brought into focus the false cases booked against Muslim youth following the Malegaon bomb blasts and their detention of years.

It was a mix of despair and hope that attracted Muslims towards the MIM. When the results were declared, it had won two seats-one from Aurangabad Central and the other from Byculla (Mumbai)-was runner up in three places and secured third place nine others. Overall, it had garnered 5.25 lakh votes, which came as a huge shock to well entrenched political parties. The biggest loser, courtesy MIM's entry in Maharashtra, was the Congress.

Now having assessed its strength, the MIM would like to make a go at the municipal elections in Mumbai and Bangalore. At the same time the party is towing with the idea of entering UP and West Bengal at a later stage.

However, it is too early to say whether the entry of MIM into Maharashtra and its popularity at the ground level would make any difference to the BJP-led government that is likely to come up there and help bring about a positive change in the situation of Muslims.

