Amim in India AIMIM

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi sought institutional mechanisms like an equal opportunities commission and a cultural diversity index to redress grievances of minorities who feel discriminated against.
Speaking to dna, Owaisi, Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad, who has been campaigning for party candidate Raja Rehbar Khan for the Bandra (East) bypoll, denied that his party had historic links with the Razakars, who supported the Nizam of Hyderabad and resisted the princely state’s integration.
“I was born in Independent India. Our forefathers rejected Jinnah. We have rejected his two-nation theory. I am a proud Indian Muslim…,” said Owaisi, whose party has two MLAs in Maharashtra.
“If you talk of violence, also talk of the Sunderlal commission report, which estimated that around 30,000 Muslims were killed (in the aftermath of the ‘police action’ in 1948 to merge the state in India),” he said.
Owaisi denied allegations that the AIMIM was a hardline outfit like right-wing Hindu groups. “Am I trying to impose my religion on the whole of India? No. Am I trying to make this a theocratic country? No. Am I saying that only an (adherent of) Islam is a nationalist? No. I am opposed to the basic thinking of the RSS,” he said.
“(There needs to be) a time-frame for all people languishing under terror-related charges. Let a day-to-day hearing be done… the process should be expedited,” Owaisi said, adding the trial of the accused in Malegaon bomb blasts, Aurangabad arms haul and German Bakery blasts convict Mirza Himayat Baig be fast-tracked. The issue of Muslim youths picked up on terror charges has been one of AIMIM’s electoral planks.
Owaisi blamed Congress-NCP for neglecting Muslims. “Overall, Muslims also bear the responsibility because we have been blindly voting for political parties which have not been (interested in our) amelioration,” he said, citing that the Mehmood-ur-Rehman committee exposed the parties.
“The beef ban.. also affects Dalits and is an economic issue,” said Owaisi. Owaisi attacked the BJP-Shiv Sena government and the erstwhile Congress- NCP regime for the short-lived decision to grant quotas to Muslims. In November 2014, the high court stayed the Congress-NCP’s move to grant a 16% Maratha quota and 5% reservation in jobs to Muslims, while not staying quotas for Muslims in education. But the BJP government allowed the Muslim quota ordinance to lapse.

Owaisi brothers to be MIM’s star campaigners…!!!

AURAGABAD: The district unit of the All India Majlis E Ittehadul Muslimeen, in coordination with the party’s Hyderabad-based team, has chalked out a campaigning strategy for the civic polls in Aurangabad. The plan, which is awaiting approval by party president Asaduddin Owaisi, includes road shows, rallies, speeches at public places, door-to-door campaigning by Owaisi brothers, their seven MLAs from Hyderabad and two MLAs from the state. The party president is likely to camp in the city for five consecutive days for campaigning.

MLA Imtiyaz Jaleel said, “Our poll campaigning would highlight city’s development, infrastructure and privatisation of water supply. We do not believe in polarisation of votes and we will ensure that the parties who have been fooling the masses for decades together do not return to power.”

He also said that party’s star campaigners would be Asauddin Owaisi and his brother Akbaruddin Owaisi.

District president Jawed Qureshi said, “The campaigning strategy was finalised at a meeting on Saturday and it has been sent to the party president. We have requested the Owaisi brothers to spend eight days in Aurangabad and are hopeful that at least four to five days will be approved by them.”

Party sources said that the local unit is demanding at least five-day stay of the party president in the city. The party is all set to start its full fledged campaigning from Tuesday. The party is also roping in a few Dalit leaders for campaigning purpose.

Asaduddin Owaisi conducts Paidal Daura in Aurangabad in view of forthcoming civic body polls…!!!

Aurangabad 17 April, 2015: Today AIMIM Supremo Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi conducted Paidal Daura in ?Aurangabad?.

Buoyed after winning two seats in 2014 assembly election in Maharashtra – one of it being the Aurangabad (Central) seat – the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is now aiming at the forthcoming civic body polls in the city by declaring to contest 60 of the 113 wards.
The election to Aurangabad Municipal Corporation is due on April 22.
This will be AIMIM’s maiden attempt to try its luck at the urban body polls by contesting such large number of seats, six months after its maiden foray in the state assembly polls. The party already has 11 corporators in the Nanded civic body.
Interestingly, the party is enthused with the support it is getting from SCs and dalits and hence decided to contest even from the saffron bastions – Gulmandi, Raja Bazar, Khadkeshwar and Aurangpura.

Earlier in February, as many as 15 local leaders including many corporators from different parties has joined AIMIM. Among these were 10 dalits belonging to Panther Republic Party (PRP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Dalit Bahujan Mahasangh and Bheem Shakti.

MIM to appoint Dalit mayor if it wins Aurangabad civic polls…!!!

Aurangabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) has decided to appoint a Dalit face as Aurangabad city mayor if it manages to win this month’s civic elections.

Asaduddin Owaisi, party’s president was in city on Friday for campaigning when he announced that if his party gets majority in the upcoming civic body elections, the mayor and standing committee chairman will be from the Dalit community.
MIM is contesting April 22 civic polls from more than 60 wards out of 113 total wards in the city.
During the address on Friday, Owaisi appealed to the Dalits and minorities to refrain from acting as bonded labours of so called secular parties, who terrorizes them saying that if they are not voted, the saffron parties would come to power.
Owaisi came down heavily on the BJP, Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP for poor infrastructure in the city as well for a series of privatizations, including the controversial parallel water pipeline project.

Owaisi also threatened Congress-NCP combine to not make false allegations against him and his party by terming the MIM to be the ‘B’ team of the BJP and Sena.
“We did a favour by not contesting the Lok Sabha elections. However, if they do not refrain from making false allegations against us, we will contest the next general elections,” he threatened.
He cited reports of the survey conducted by his team and said, “There are 62 wards in the city without proper drainage system, 73 wards lack adequate drinking water facility and 64 wards do not have proper sanitation. The number of people visiting orthopaedic doctors has increased manifold in the city and those ruling the city are responsible for it.”

Of the 113 wards that are scheduled to go to the body polls, 22 are reserved for SC community.

The rise of AIMIM in Maharashtra…!!!

I still remember a telephonic chat I had with the president of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Asaduddin Owaisi, on October 16, 2012, after his party had won 11 seats in the municipal elections in Nanded, central Maharashtra. He had sounded a warning bell by wresting these seats from Congress stalwart and former CM Ashok Chavan’s backyard.
“My party will continue to torment the Congress as long as it targets innocent Muslims in the name of terrorism and denies the backward community all-inclusive development. Congress has failed to understand the undercurrent and growing resentment in Muslims. We have been working hard in the erstwhile Hyderabad State region that includes Marathwada (central Maharashtra). We have tasted such thumping victory for the first time in the region, and we will make dents in the Congress in the coming years,” Owaisi had told me then.
The Hyderabad MP’s warning is now showing greater effects. In fact, we saw it coming in last October’s Assembly polls, when AIMIM bagged two seats — one each in Aurangabad and Byculla. Six months after the Assembly polls, the party struck a similar chord to claim 25 seats in the Aurangabad municipal polls, though it was not able to save its poll deposit in the Bandra East Assembly by-poll a couple of weeks ago. AIMIM’s notable achievement in Aurangabad is that it got five non-Muslim corporators elected, thus partially negating the notion that only the Muslim community stands by it.
Aurangabad saw AIMIM taking local Dalits (Hindu and Buddhists) in its fold successfully. And this Dalit-Muslim chemistry is going to pose a real challenge to the depleted Congress. We are not counting the NCP here, because it has at least 40-50 winning segments that are controlled by its regional satraps. The Congress does not enjoy NCP-like luxury; it has been relying heavily on Dalit and Muslim votes for the past several decades.
In doldrums after their crushing defeat in both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, Congress leaders now curse their fate. They hope the ‘Modi mania’ to subside gradually and the BJP to falter in the matters of governance, so that they get a chance to bounce back. However, going by AIMIM’s upsurge, the Congress may not be able to woo the Muslim and Dalit communities anytime soon. The Owaisi brothers are expected to storm many other Muslim-dominated towns in the state in the forthcoming local self-government elections, where Dalits, too, play a decisive role.
Congress leaders, who were earlier blamed for facilitating AIMIM’s entry into the state, are now targeting the BJP-Sena for encouraging AIMIM. They say that the ideologies of the two — the AIMIM and the BJP-Sena — are supplementary to each other and help in polarising votes. Surprisingly, Congressmen are hard pressed for answers when one asks them why their party didn’t try hard enough to make strong leaders among Muslims. The only exception was the late A R Antulay, who had won Indira Gandhi’s trust to become the state’s only Muslim CM. He enjoyed a brief tenure, after which the Muslims were denied top positions and influential departments in the state government. The Samajwadi Party first tapped Congress’ failure successfully in this regard, and, now it’s AIMIM’s turn to thrive on the resentment among Muslims.
AIMIM’s next targets are Mumbai, Thane, Bhiwandi, Malegaon and Dhule, where it has a sizeable following. Other than the Congress, AIMIM has also damaged the pro-Muslim Samajwadi Party, whose presence is also on the wane. Muslims seem to have accepted AIMIM as a formidable alternative at a time when the BJP and Shiv Sena are in power and the Congress is condemned.
AIMIM’s success also raises big concerns, especially in sensitive places like Mumbai where the Hindu-Muslim rift exists, but has remained largely invisible since the post-Babri riots. Laced with equally fundamental sensitivities, parties like Shiv Sena are not expected to sit idle. It was the Sena which made the most of anti-Muslim propaganda in central Maharashtra, where AIMIM found its first foothold. The Sena has benefited in a large way from AIMIM in the Aurangabad elections and Bandra (East) Assembly by-polls. The BJP, too, has these factors calculated in its scheme of things for the future.

Owaisi’s MIM scores big in Aurangabad, India polls…!!!

COurtesy : Arab News
The Hyderabad-based Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) party has performed impressively in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) elections winning 25 out of the 53 seats it contested. Led by MP Asaduddin Owaisi, it emerged as the second-largest party in the 113-member civic body. The results were declared on Thursday.
The party, which vows to empower the downtrodden and underprivileged, was contesting the municipal elections for the first time. The party was spurred on by a fabulous performance during assembly elections last year when two MIM candidates, Imtiaz Jaleel (Aurangabad Central) and Waris Pathan (Byculla, Mumbai), emerged victorious.
The Shiv Sena and the BJP, which rule the state of Maharashtra of which Aurangabad is one of the major cities, emerged as overall winners. They contested the elections separately but are expected to form an alliance. Shiv Sena won 29 seats and the BJP 22. With the help of smaller parties, such as the Republican Party of India (RPI), and other independents, the two biggest parties are in a comfortable position to fill the three important posts of mayor, deputy mayor and standing committee chairman.
The MIM’s handsome win has proved that its victory in the assembly elections was no flash in the pan. The Congress, at whose expense the MIM scored big, managed to win only 10 seats. Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was reduced to one digit. Significantly, the Congress managed to beat senior MIM leader Javed Qureshi who was in the eye of a storm for allegedly mishandling ticket distribution.
The MIM tally would have touched 30 had some rebels not contested against the official candidates. Nearly five of the corporators who won as independents were MIM functionaries. They are expected to join the party, swelling its ranks.
The Owaisi brothers stayed put in the city in the run-up to the elections, delivering hard-hitting speeches and nipping in the bud any rebellion from disgruntled members.
Asaduddin Owaisi, who has repeatedly asserted during newspaper interviews and television talk shows that his party was not just about Muslims, scored another significant political point during the AMC elections.
Out of the 53 seats it contested, the MIM fielded 12 non-Muslim candidates, mostly underprivileged Hindus referred to as Dalits. Of these 12, five non-Muslims — Sangeeta Waghule, Lata Nikhalge, Gangadhar Dhage, Sarita Borde and Vikas Edke — emerged victorious.
“This takes the sting out of the opposition campaign that MIM is a Muslim-only party,” said a political analyst while speaking to Arab News on Thursday. “In the past, the MIM has been instrumental in facilitating the election of Dalits as mayors of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, a fact that MIM rivals try conveniently to forget.”
“The MIM performance shows that people want development and are tired of the false promises made by other parties,” Jaleel was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India. “The results also show that people’s power is greater than money power.”
The party will now eye the Mumbai municipal corporation elections which are due in 2017.

MIM’s impressive performance in the Aurangabad municipal elections is bad news for the Congress and NCP…!!!

The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance would be pleased with the results of the Aurangabad municipal corporation. The alliance has managed to win 58 out of the total 113 seats. But more than that the saffron combine would be thrilled at the fact that they have finally achieved the kind of communal polarisation they have wanted in the state. Asaduddin Owaisi’s Majlis-e-Ittehadul managed an impressive performance winning 23 seats, reducing the Congress and NCP to 10 and 3 respectively.

It is evident that while the BJP-Sena grabbed a huge chunk of the Hindu vote, a majority of Muslim have shifted from the Congress and the NCP to the MIM. In Owaisi and the MIM, the BJP-Sena finally have a figure whom they can construct as Afzal Khan in Chhatrapati Shivaji’s Maharashtra.

This was evident in the manner in which the saffron combine, Sena in particular, spewed venom at Owaisi in the recent past. Even Sanjay Raut’s “disenfranchise Muslims” demand was written in the context of the MIM’s rise in the state.

But will MIM be able to replicate its success in other states as well or will its expansion outside its pocket borough of Hyderabad remain restricted to Maharashtra alone?

Owaisi’s ambitions aren’t as grandiose as they are made out to be. He doesn’t seek, as some commentators have asserted, to become the sole spokesperson of the Muslim community. The use of the term “sole spokesman” is itself loaded, associated as it is with the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Even in its bastion Hyderabad, MIM has taken decisions that one wouldn’t expect from a “Muslim party”. For instance, on three occasions it has made Hindu leaders the mayor of Hyderabad.

His plan seems a more limited one: to take up cudgels on behalf of the Muslim community in states where the “secular” parties have completely failed to safeguard their interests.

Maharashtra was a perfect place for such an expansion.

The erstwhile Congress-NCP government in the state had become unpopular with the Muslim community. According to a paper prepared the All India Milli Council in 2012, Maharashtra was ranked second, after Madhya Pradesh, in terms of “arbitrary arrest of Muslim youth on terror charges”. Even though the Congress-NCP made a last ditch effort to support ahead of the Vidhan Sabha elections by approving 5 per cent reservation for Muslims, it didn’t seem to have cut much ice with the community. And the BJP struck down the quota soon after coming to power, adding insult to the community’s injury.

Given the BJP-Sena’s open hostility towards Muslims, with the scrapping of the quota and the beef ban that has harmed the livelihood of lakhs of people, it is hardly surprising that many Muslims in Maharashtra see Owaisi as someone who will fight on their behalf.

MIM made its first impact in Maharashtra politics in 2012, by winning 11 out of 81 seats in the Nanded Municipal Corporation. In last year’s Vidhan Sabha elections, MIM won two seats Aurangabad Central and Byculla and dented the Congress in a number of other Muslim dominated constituencies. The fact that Muslims in Nanded and Aurangabad are culturally similar to Hyderabadi Muslims also worked in MIM’s favour.

These favourable factors might not exist in other states, thereby constricting the MIM’s expansion efforts and this is something that Owaisi seems to recognise.

For instance, Bihar isn’t a priority as the Muslim in the state are certain to rally behind the reunited Janata Parivar duo of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad. It shelved its plans in Delhi ahead of the Vidhan Sabha elections, perhaps expecting a complete consolidation of Muslims behind AAP.

Owaisi’s next priority seems to be Uttar Pradesh where the Samajwadi Party government did lose its credibility among Muslims to some extent after the Muzaffarnagar riots. The state government is clearly rattled as it denied Owaisi permission to hold rallies in Azamgarh, Meerut and Allahabad.

Surprise victory for MIM in Aurangabad…!!!

The Hyderabad-based All India Majli-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) led by the Owaisi brothers – Asaduddin Owaisi and Akbaruddin Owaisi – has sprung a surprise by winning 26 of the total 113 wards in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance got 52 seats, Others/Independents 23 and NCP 3. The MIM became the second largest party in Aurangabad, the headquarters of the Marathwada region. Shiv Sena’s five-term MP Chandrakant Khaire leads the party in Aurangabad.
For MIM it is a major victory, after it won 11 of the 81 seats in Nanded municipal polls on its debut in 2012. In the 2014 Maharashtra Legisaltive Assembly elections, the MIM won two seats – Imtiyaz Jaleel from Aurangabad Central and Waris Pathan from Byculla.

“It is wrong to say that we are fanning communal issues. We have given tickets to all sections of the society, including Dalits and they have won the elections….let me make it clear once again that the MIM stands for secularism and uniform development,” Pathan said. “The Sena-BJP would have to work now as we would be sitting in the opposition,” Jaleel said.

The NCP, however, said the Shiv Sena and MIM had a hidden understanding. In the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, the NCP unit spearheaded by former excise minister Ganesh Naik won 52 of the 111 wards.
The Shiv Sena and BJP alliance won 38 seats, Congress 10 and Others/Independents 5. “We will reach the magic figure of 56…some rebels are in touch with me, we also want the Congress to stay with us,” Naik said. After his loss in the Vidhan Sabha elections, there were reports that Naik would switch over to the BJP, however, that did not happen and the results now come as a major boost to the Naik family. The Sena-BJP also won the municipal councils of Badlapur and Ambernath in the outskirt of Mumbai city. In municipal council of Bokhar in Nanded district, the hometown of former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, the Congress won 12 of the total
19 seats. – See more at: http://m.deccanherald.com/content/473386/surprise-victory-mim-aurangabad.html/#sthash.42IjjEGm.dpuf

After Aurangabad poll showing, AIMIM’s got BMC in its sights…!!!

After staging a stupendous performance in the Aurangabad municipal polls where it won 25 out of 113 seats on Thursday, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has its sights set on the Mumbai civic elections scheduled to be held in February 2017.
The party wants to win at least 50 out of 227 seats in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and put behind its discouraging show in the Bandra (East) Assembly by-polls early this month. AIMIM’s fiery approach is expected to make the BJP and Sena review their respective strategies for the BMC polls.
The saffron parties fought as an alliance in Aurangabad to tame the AIMIM challenge and won 58 seats (Sena 35, BJP 23). The ruling partners, who contested last year’s Assembly polls against each other, may forge a pact for the BMC where they are now ruling partners.
The Sena contested 64 and the BJP contested 49 seats in Aurangabad. AIMIM’s entry in Mumbai was as dramatic last year. It upstaged mighty parties, and tamed the Modi wave to emerge victorious in the Byculla Assembly segment and finished third in Shiv Sena’s stronghold Bandra (East).
It also won an Assembly seat in Aurangabad in the same elections. Earlier, it had dented the Congress in Nanded’s municipal polls. But it lost its poll deposit to a fierce battle between the Sena’s Trupti Sawant and Congress veteran Narayan Rane early this month in Bandra (East).
Despite the defeat, the votes it won (8,000 less than the 2014 polls) proved that AIMIM could still be a spoiler for major parties, especially where the Muslim community is a deciding factor. “In Mumbai, the AIMIM will concentrate on areas where the Muslims and Dalits are in majority. We’re a party that works for these backward classes.
The Congress and other parties have failed miserably,” the party’s Byculla MLA Waris Pathan told mid-day on Thursday. Pathan said that the performance in Aurangabad was a sign of what would happen in Mumbai. “Now nobody can stop us.
We have shown the Congress, BJP and Sena our might. We are the single largest opposition in Aurangabad. In fact, we may say we are the single largest party there because we fought alone, unlike the alliance of the Sena-BJP,” he said, adding that his party AIMIM has put the Bandra (East) debacle behind it.
According to Pathan, the party has already started working on a strategy for the 2017 Mumbai polls. “We can easily win 50 seats, and if we do exceedingly well in planning, we will surpass all expectations.” He, however, dismissed accusations that his party ate into the Congress’ vote share and helped parties like the BJP and Sena win. “If the accusation is true, the Congress should have won hands down in Navi Mumbai where we did not contest.”

MIM stops Saffron chariot in Aurangabad with Dalit support, Sena fumes…!!!

Mumbai: Apparently disturbed by the spectacular performance of Hyderabad-based All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in the Aurangabad civic polls, the Shiv Sena said on Friday it does not augur well for communal amity in Maharashtra.

MIM Aurangabad

“It’s a matter of concern how the AIMIM has got strength from Muslim localities in Sambhajinagar where the Owaisi brothers had challenged to uproot the saffron flag and plant their green flag,” the Shiv Sena said.
Shiv Sena calls Aurangabad as ‘Sambhajinagar’ and also been demanding it should be renamed after the great Maratha king instead of the Mughal emperor.

Ruing how some Dalit and non-Muslim candidates have also won on AIMIM tickets, the Sena accused the party of “playing dirty politics to divide the Dalit-Hindu votes”, in an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana.

“If the party, which was formed for the interests of only Muslim community, continues to get such support even from the Dalits, it’s alarm time for not only social unity but also the Ambedkar movement,” the edit warned.
Pointing out that in the last (October 2014) assembly elections, the AIMIM’s leads in 50 civic wards (of total 113) of Aurangabad had emboldened it to dream of capturing the civic body in the Wedneday polls.

“Though that dream failed to materialise, the very fact that 26 candidates of the ‘poisonous party’ have been elected to the civic body is definitely not a good sign…it was like a ‘crusade’ (religious war) in Sambhajinagar which the Shiv Sena has won and in which the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party were blown away like dried leaves,” the Sena said.
However, despite the ‘saffron victory’ in Aurangabad, the Shiv Sena feels the ‘green upsurge’ spells danger since a communal party like AIMIM is “unifying Muslim votes under an Islamic banner”.

“Now, the Hindus must open their eyes to the poll results and unite against it by discarding their own differences; This is the clear lesson from the Aurangabad civic elections,” the Sena urged.
The edit followed the AIMIM’s stunning performance in the April 22 Aurangabad civic elections in which Sena secured 28 seats, the AIMIM stood second with 26 seats, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came third with 24 seats in the 113-member house.
The Congress bagged only 11 seats, while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) came home with two seats, and smaller parties and independents captured 23 seats, with AIMIM poised to become the main opposition party in the city renowned for its world-famous Ajanta-Ellora cave temples.
Though the Sena-BJP alliance secured control by bagging a total 52 seats, it still falls short of a simple majority of 57, necessitating the support of rebels and independents.
The AIMIM made a soft entry in Maharashtra in 2012 bagging 11 seats in the 81-member Nanded Municipal Corporation elections that year.
Progressing steadily, it is now preparing for the forthcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections due early-2017, and other important civic bodies like Pune and Thane.

MIM’s victory to echo beyond Maha…!!!

The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) fought a high-octane Aurangabad Municipal election and with vigour that is not generally associated with civic polls. The party entered the fray against the backdrop of a defeat of its Bandra East Raja Rahbar candidate in a by-election where he received only about 15,000 votes, around 8,000 less than his tally in the previous contest. It was observed that the Muslims in Bandra had largely voted for the Congress candidate Narayan Rane, who lost to BJP.

It was primarily on account of this result, that it was construed that the performance of the MIM in Aurangabad would be less than what the party has been expecting. But the MIM sprung a surprise and won 25 of the 53 seats it contested and became the second largest party after the Shiv Sena with 29 seats. The BJP had to be content with 22 seats in the AMC which had a total strength of 113.
The results go out to prove several points. One, that the MIM’s winning two seats in the Maharashtra assembly elections—one from Aurangabad Central and another from Byculla – was not a flash in the pan phenomenon. There was a craving for a new party then and it continues to exist. Two, it has bigger plans for Mumbai and Bengaluru municipal elections and the assembly polls in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. Three, the MIM has improved its relations with the Dalits in Maharashtra. Of the 53 wards it contested, the MIM gave tickets to 13 non-Muslims – 12 Dalits and one BC. Of these, four Dalits and a BC have emerged victorious.

The slogan that Jai Meem(Muslims); Jai Bheem (Ambedkar) appears to be gaining strength.
The possibilities of Aurangabad being ready for the MIM became clear to the leadership in Hyderabad with the results of the recent assembly elections. From Aurangabad the party had fielded three members in the assembly elections of which only one — Imtiaz Jaleel — romped home from Aurangabad Central. The other two lost but won considerable votes. The number of votes Jaleel received was 61,843; in Aurangabad East Dr Abdul Ghaffar Quadri scored 60,268, taking up party position to two in the assembly segment where the BJP had won. The MIM supported candidate of Republican Panther Party Gangadhar Sukhdev Gaade could manage in Aurangabad West 35,348 votes where Shiv Sena won and BJP stood second. The MIM had secured third position. The total votes the MIM had garnered in Aurangabad were thus 1,57,459.

With this figure in mind the MIM sent Nampally legislator Jafar Hussain Meraj to consolidate the party’s position by launching a membership drive and also through other means. Aurangabad Central MLA Imtiaz Jaleel and Aurangabad unit president Javed Quraishi were asked to support Meraj. When the civic polls were announced, the craving for party tickets was so great that it had to struggle to choose the right candidate for the right ward. Over 530 candidates had approached for 53 seats. Though a four-member local committee had been formed to decide on the candidates, serious fights broke out among the potential contestants and their supporters. At the end, at least five candidates who were denied ticket decided to fight independently. All of them have won.

What is working in favour of the MIM are two things. Chief among them is the failure of the secular parties, both the Congress and the NCP, to rise to the expectations of Muslims in times of need. Since there was no alternative, the Muslims were sailing with them. Now that MIM has emerged as an alternative force, they have decided to throw their weight behind it.
According to an observer in Aurangabad, the Muslims or Dalits do not believe that all their woes could be solved by the MIM. But they are looking at MIM as a party that would voice their grievances and desperations and strive to correct the situation.

Another observer said that the impressive victory of the MIM would give more confidence to its leadership to enter the poll frays elsewhere, especially in Bengaluru, UP and West Bengal.

There is also a word of caution. The civic polls should not be taken as an indication that MIM has come of age and could plunge into any political situation head on.
The MIM’s performance in Aurangabad would definitely help it in Maharashtra. But it could be seen as a party expressing the aspirations of Muslims and other marginalized sections only when it shows its strength in UP or West Bengal.

AIMIM lodges police complaint against article and picture of Prophet Mohammad…!!!

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) lodged a complaint with the Hyderabad police against the alleged “pictorial depiction” of Prophet Mohammed in a Telugu daily and sought registration of a criminal case, the party officially announced in Hyderabad on Friday.
According to a press release issued here by the AIMIM, in a complaint addressed to Hyderabad Police Commissioner, the party alleged that the Telangana edition of the Telugu daily dated May 1, published from Hyderabad, prominently carried an article on page 12 entitled ‘Mahopakari Mohammed Pravakta’.

Allegedly, the article also carried a “pictorial representation” of Prophet Mohammed, the AIMIM release said, adding, pictorial representation is strictly taboo in Islam and any such imaginary hurt religious sentiments and feelings of the entire Muslim community.
The AIMIM release alleged that publication of Prophet Mohammed;s pictorial representation is a blatant attempt by publishers of the Telugu daily to hurt the religious sentiments and sensibilities of Muslims by causing them untold mental agony, at a time when Telangana state’s law and order situation is peaceful.
The release said AIMIM’s Charminar MLA Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri and other party leaders handed over a copy of their complaint to Additional Police Commissioner (Law and Order) Anjani Kumar seeking necessary action.

The AIMIM requested that the Station House Officer of the Central Crime Station (CCS) or concerned police station to immediately register an FIR and case against publishers and editors of the Telugu daily, besides the writer of the article under Section 153 A and 295 A of the Indian Penal Code and investigate the matter, the release said.

The AIMIM also requested steps to restrict circulation of the article through the social media or other online media by unsocial elements who might want to disturb peace and communal harmony in Telangana state and Hyderabad, the release said. Police said they have recieved the complaint and are looking into the matter.

AIMIM Will Contest B’luru Corpn Elections: Owaisi

MYSURU:All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president and Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday said that his party would field candidates in the upcoming elections to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
The Hyderabad-based party had performed well in the elections to the Aurangabad
Municipal Corporation held recently. Owaisi, who is on a private visit to the city, hit out at the Congress and the state government for imposing a ban on his entry to Bengaluru city.
The emergence of AIMIM in Maharashtra has started to haunt the Congress, Owaisi said and added that the party (Congress) had not learnt a lesson from the poll debacle in Maharashtra. He ruled out talks on entering into an alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular) in the state.

“Will it not divide the secular vote with other parties also targeting Muslims and
dalits votes? Why should they (Congress) blame the minorities for the BJP winning 282 seats in the Lok Sabha… Where has the Vokkaliga, Lingayat, Maratha, Kamma and Reddy votes gone?” he asked.
Bengaluru is not anyone’s “personal property”, he said and added that freedom of expression was his right. “No chief minister can not stop me from talking to people,” he added. In an interaction with media persons, he said that Muslims and dalits face common issues like poverty, high rate of school dropouts, less graduates and social discrimination.

Owaisi said that there was no law and order problem after he addressed a meeting at Bhatkal. Owaisi said that he has appealed in the High Court against the ban order.
“I can speak in the Indian Parliament, but not on the streets of Bengaluru… they are afraid of me,” he added. “If they (Congress) have done so much (for dailts and Muslims), why is that in 2009 and 2014 elections not even a single Muslim was elected to the Parliament from Karnataka…How many Muslim MLAs are there in the Assembly…?” he asked. He charged that the governments have failed to develop areas with a large Muslim population in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region like Kalaburagi, Bidar and other places.
Talking about the recent acquittal of 17 youths by a Hubballi court, he said, “Let the government suspend those police officers who falsely implicated 17 Muslim youths for allegedly having terror links. Can the government suspend (the police) for destroying the lives of these boys?” he asked.

MIM Will Contest BBMP Polls: Owaisi…!!!

MYSURU:All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president and Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday said that his party would field candidates in the upcoming elections to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
The Hyderabad-based party had performed well in the elections to the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation held recently.
Owaisi, who is on a private visit to the city, hit out at the Congress and the state government for imposing a ban on his entry to Bengaluru city.

The emergence of AIMIM in Maharashtra has started to haunt the Congress, Owaisi said and added that the party (Congress) had not learnt a lesson from the poll debacle in Maharashtra.
He ruled out talks on entering into an alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular) in the state.

“Will it not divide the secular vote with other parties also targeting Muslims and dalits votes? Why should they (Congress) blame the minorities for the BJP winning 282 seats in the Lok Sabha… Where has the Vokkaliga, Lingayat, Maratha, Kamma and Reddy votes gone?” he asked.
Bengaluru city is not anyone’s “personal property”, he said and added that freedom of expression was his right. “No chief minister can not stop me from talking to people,” he added.
In an interaction with media persons, he said that Muslims and dalits face common issues like poverty, high rate of school dropouts, less graduates and social discrimination.

Owaisi said that there was no law and order problem after he addressed a meeting near Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district.
Owaisi said that he has appealed in the High Court against the ban order.

“I can speak in the Indian Parliament, but not on the streets of Bengaluru… they are afraid of me,” the MP added.
“If they (Congress) have done so much (for dailts and Muslims), why is that in 2009 and 2014 elections not even a single Muslim was elected to the Parliament from Karnataka…How many Muslim MLAs are there in the Assembly…?” he asked.
He charged that successive state governments have failed to develop areas with a large Muslim population in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region of the state like Kalaburagi, Bidar and other places.
Talking about the recent acquittal of 17 youths by a Hubballi court, he said, “Let the government suspend those police officers who falsely implicated 17 Muslim youths for allegedly having terror links. Can the government suspend (the police) for destroying the lives of these boys?” Owaisi asked.

Asaduddin Owaisi questions Bharat Ratna to Atal Bihari Vajpayee…!!!

NEW DELHI: Not new to stoking controversies, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief, Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday questioned the Narendra Modi-led government’s decision to confer on Bharat Ratna to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, alleging that the BJP’s most acceptable face had a role in Babri Masjid demolition.

Vajpayee was conferred on Bharat Ratna on March 27 this year when President Pranab Mukherjee went to the ailing former Prime Minister’s residence.
Owaisi also questioned the logic of conferring Padma Vibhushan to the BJP patriarch LK Advani.
With its electoral curve showing an upward trend in Maharashtra, AIMIM is now focusing on Uttar Pradesh in an apparent move to make inroads into the support base of Samajwadi Party and BSP.

“We are going to contest assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh,” AIMIM chief said couple of days ago.
Elections in Uttar Pradesh are scheduled in early 2017. The Lok Sabha MP told PTI it was “too early” to say whether AIMIM would align with any other party in Uttar Pradesh.
He said his party has not taken any decision on the issue of contesting Assembly polls in Bihar scheduled later this year and in West Bengal next year, both the states with sizeable Muslim voters.

Till BJP’s emergence in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, politics in Uttar Pradesh has been dominated by the SP and the BSP for the past decade.