Asaduddin Owaisi

HYDERABAD: Even as BJP is looking to turn politics in West Bengal on its head, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi ’s party, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen ( AIMIM ), too has set up base in the state.

Owaisi told TOI on Thursday that he is also looking to expand in Rajasthan and Jharkhand as well.

“This yolk of secularism and this huge responsibility on Muslims to ensure that secular candidates win has weakened,” Owaisi said. “The community has realised that despite voting (for the Congress and other such parties) they are not able to defeat BJP. In Rajasthan, there is realisation (among Muslims) that they need a political voice, especially after the judgement of Pehlu Khan and BJP winning so many Parliament seats.”

Pehlu was a cattle trader from Haryana who was lynched in Alwar in 2017, allegedly by cow protection groups. Earlier this month, a local court had acquitted all six people accused in the case.

Owaisi added that leaders and social groups from West Bengal had been asking him to expand his party in the state even before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

MIM has held 20 public meetings in West Bengal

Owaisi said some sections from West Bengal asked him to expand MIM. “I had asked them to wait till the elections are over. Now that the results are out, we are going ahead with the expansion,” he added.

The party has already held at least 20 well-attended public meetings in Muslimdominated areas of Howrah, Kolkata, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur, Nadia and Asansol. The Majlis leaders talk about the poor condition of Muslims, based on documents like the Sachar Committee report and attack both chief minister Mamata Banerjee and BJP. AIMIM offices have also been set up, but the state unit is yet to be formed.

AIMIM is making a foray into West Bengal at a time when Mamata is under attack from BJP for what it calls the state government’s 'appeasement policy' and fuelling a Hindu-Muslim divide in the eastern state that shares a porous border with Bangladesh.

BJP has also alleged that the state government has allowed Bangladeshi migrants to sneak into the country illegally and settle in Dinajpur, Nadia, Murshidabad and Malda districts. Sources in AIMIM say they are targeting these areas and getting substantial traction. “Many in the state feel that only Asaduddin Owaisi has the strength to fight BJP. Only AIMIM can counter BJP just like chief counters them in Parliament,” says Syed Asim Waqar, in charge of AIMIM in West Bengal. “We have also seen many people joining us, including from Trainamool and Congress. Among them are professors and other professionals.”

Speaking about the party’s presence in Rajasthan, Owaisi said, at this point, they are only meeting different groups and exploring possibilities, but no public meetings have been held. “Many people are coming from Rajasthan to meet me. There is also an important group which has many responsible people,” said the Hyderabad MP.

