On June 2014 this year, a day after President Pranab Mukherjee spelled out the agenda of the new government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there was a motion of thanks in the parliament. Amongst those who spoke in opposition to the motion was Asaduddin Owaisi, the 45-year-old chief of the Andhra Pradesh-based party, the Masjlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM). Owaisi had been elected for the third consecutive time to the Indian parliament. He spoke right after Ram Vilas Paswan, president of the Lok Janshakti Party, once seen as a champion of Dalit and Muslim rights. Paswan supported the motion in parliament stating that the 2002 Gujarat riots should be treated as episodes of the past. There was no need, he insisted, to keep harping on the communal episodes of Gujarat.His speech received great applause from the ruling party. Then came Owaisi, dressed in his trademarkand skull cap, opposing the motion just before Narendra Modi was to address the house. "In my opinion, there are four incidents in the history of this country which shook the foundation of the country- the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, the genocide of Sikhs in Delhi in 1984, the destruction of Babri Masjid and the 2002 Gujarat Pogrom.. (Those in whom humanity is alive will remember these incidents and will not forgive their perpetrators)" he said.These lines created a furore in the House with members of the BJP asking the Speaker to ask Owaisi to stop misleading the parliament .The speech was clearly impactful for none could disagree with the incidents mentioned by him as a blot on Indian democracy. He concluded his speech stating that he stood in parliament as the son of Ehsaan Jafferi, the former MP who was brutally killed during the Gujarat riots, and as the uncle of Sadiq Jamal, who was killed in a fake encounter in Gujarat- a pointed attack at Narendra Modi and his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister.On expected lines the PM decided not to answer any of the points raised by the MP and went on to share his roadmap for development.The Indian media has treated Owaisi and his MIM with as much disdain as a any Hindu right-wing leader, mainly by virtue of his divisive speeches of the past. His brother, Akbar Owaisi, a member of the Andhra Pradesh state legislature, was arrested two years ago for giving provocative and inflammatory speeches. The purpose was political. His party had snapped ties with the Congress-run government that was headed by Kiran Kumar Reddy in Andhra Pradesh, alleging discrimination against minorities and unkept promises.Assembly elections were to follow and those falsely implicated in the Mecca Masjid Blasts (in 2007, at least 15 people were killing in explosions at a Hyderabad mosque) had been released. The Congress government was equally complicit,said Owaisi at election rallies, in the injustice meted out to Muslim boys. Congress leader Digvijaya Singh lashed out at the MIM calling it a communal party while reiterating that his party was anguished at the plight of Muslims in Hyderabad.Over the last few days, Owaisi , the barrister at law from Lincolns Inn, has been occupying the headlines. His party made an impressive debut in the Maharashtra elections last month, getting two seats and 0.9 percent of the total vote share. This when Raj Thackeray's MNS managed to secure just one seat despite claiming to be the torchbearers of the Maharashtrian cause, another fringe that was exploited at politically-crucial moments by the mainstream parties.Having made inroads into Maharashtra, an ambitious Owaisi now plans to enter the election fray in other states in India with a sizeable Muslim population including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.A jittery Congress, the self-proclaimed protector of minority rights, has decided to nip the MIM in the bud by accusing Owaisi of acting at the behest of BJP President Amit Shah. Congress social media workers and spokespersons have been insisting on an 'understanding' between the MIM and RSS for mutual benefit.Not to be left behind, Sharad Pawar's NCP in Maharashtra and the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, who both count on Muslim votes, have begun making noises against the Owaisi clan. Most conveniently appear to forget that the MIM was a part of the UPA government till this April, and that Owaisi was asked by the Congress leadership to work out a solution with separatist leaders in Kashmir as a part of an all-party delegation to the state.In the history of independent India, no Muslim party has managed to get the confidence of the community with leaders and priests like Imam Bukhari treated with suspicion by most Muslims.Muslim votes in the country have always been claimed by parties run by Non Muslims. From Sonia and Rahul to Sharad Pawar, Mulayam Singh, Mayawati, Laloo Yadav , Nitish, most of these 'secular' leaders have managed to swing the votes in their favour but Muslims as a community have remained the least represented in most crucial fronts including the Indian Parliament.By expanding out of its comfort zone of Hyderabad and testing the waters across the country, the MIM seeks to tap in the increasing discontentment with national parties among the Muslim community. Owaisi insists these parties have relied on tokenism like grandparties and powerless committees to make it seem like they are working for minority rights and progress . The findings of none of these communities including the Sachchar report and the Sri Krishna report have been implemented in the last decade."You may disagree with our politics but you cannot refute the Sachar Committee's observation that the socio-economic condition of Muslims in Andhra Pradesh is the best in the country. You have to give credit to the MIM for that. We run educational and medical institutions, yet we are branded anti-national" said Owaisi at an event organized recently by the Indian Express.One may not agree with the politics of Owaisi but it would be difficult to deny that the increasing popularity of his party is a result of the deception by the Congress and the indifference of the BJP now in power. The tokenism by the Congress, the manipulation by regional parties and the bigotry and alienation by radical leaders and ideologues of the BJP has made Owaisi make inroads into the mainstream political narrative.A senior Muslim leader from the Congress made a very valid point to this journalist " When the Muslim voter is disillusioned,and he sees two kind of representatives on TV- one the likes of a Zafar Sareshwala who has become the token face of Modi's inclusive politics with his beard and the namaz mark on his forehead, defending Modi's role in Gujarat riots, and another Muslim with a similar appearance who talks of equal representation of Muslims and their assimilation in the mainstream, he's likely to be attracted to the latter."In a recent television interview, Owaisi expressed regret over his brother's infamous 2012 remark - "keep the police aside for 15 minutes and we will teach them a lesson."At a meeting at his Delhi home last week, Owaisi told me " Why just Muslims, why not Dalits and Hindus and Christians too, their representation is as dismal."

Will Muslims in the country repose their faith in the MIM, will he be a leader to look out for ? "I was one of the few leaders who gave one of the most befitting response to Pakistan when I was there with a delegation of Indian leaders. A BJP MP said he had no idea I was this patriotic," said Owaisi to me.He has been making the right noises, but the MIM chief will have to remember that the country's secular fabric has been unkind to the practitioners of exclusive politics. Will he change that approach?