Updated: November 10, 2020 11:39:55 pm
AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi at an electoral rally in Kaimur. (Photo: PTI)
Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) made big strides on Bihar’s results declared on Tuesday, winning five seats out of 24 in the Seemanchal region. In the process, he scuttled Mahagathbandhan’s hopes of improving the tally of 14 he had won in the 2015 Assembly elections in this region, which has a large number of Muslims. Follow the results of Bihar LIVE updates
AIMIM had presented 16 candidates in Seemanchal, presenting itself as an alternative to RJD and Congress, the traditional winners of the region. Although he lost the Kishanganj Vidhan Sabha constituency, the only seat he held in the Assembly, his impact was felt not only in the five constituencies he won, but also in how he harmed the Mahagathbandhan in several others.
Of the 24 seats in the Seemanchal, in the outgoing Assembly, the RJD, Congress and the Left (together the Mahagathbandhan) occupied 14, the NDA 9 and the AIMIM one.
Bihar party chairman Akhtar-ul Iman beat Amour, defeating incumbent Congress Jaleel Mastan, who has represented the constituency six times. Mastan finished third, behind Saba Zafar of JD (U). Iman secured more than 55% of the vote share, having left Kochdhaman’s seat.
Read also | AIMIM on Bihar Results: Those who called us vote cutters have been answered; will not endorse BJP
His match colleague Muhammed Izhar Asfi defeated JD (U) MLA Mujahid Alam in Kochadhaman, and RJD’s Shahid Alam finished third. Asfi again won big, grabbing almost 50% of the vote.
In Bahadurganj, Tauseef Alam from Congress lost to AIMIM’s Mohammed Anzar Nayeemi. Lakhan Lal Pandit, an ally of the NDA, Vikassheel Insaan Party, was ranked second in this constituency, which Alam had represented in 2010 and 2015.
RJD’s stronghold, Baisi, also went to AIMIM, where its candidate Syed Ruknuddin Ahmad ousted Haji Abdus Subhan, who finished third behind BJP’s Vinod Kumar. The RJD hoped to retain this position. During the campaign, Tejashwi Yadav had even announced that Subhan would get a Cabinet position if he won again.
In Jokihat of Araria district, Shahnawaz Alam of AIMIM, with a 34% share of the vote, defeated his brother Safraraz Alam, who opposed a ticket from RJD. With a vote percentage of 28%, Ranjit Yadav of the BJP came in second. Alams are the sons of former Union Minister Taslimuddin, who enjoyed great support and popularity in Seemanchal. He passed away in 2017.
Owaisi had led a high-voltage campaign in the Seemanchal region which has a high proportion of Muslims. Encouraged by its decent performance in the last Lok Sabha elections when it garnered nearly 3 lakh of votes in Kishanganj, AIMIM had decided to run for 20 seats in Bihar, with 16 candidates in the fray in Seemanchal, and formed a six-party alliance led by the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party of Upendra Kushwaha and including the BSP. The first victory for the party in the state came in 2019 when it won the Kishanganj Assembly seat in a bypoll, necessitated by the MLA Congressional election Mohammad Jawed al Lok Sabha.
Many had predicted that with the race for Bihar so close, Seemanchal might hold the key to government formation. As those predictions seemed to be coming true, one thing was clear: AIMIM, sacked by the two main fronts and struggling to expand beyond the Owaisi base in Hyderabad, has arrived in the state.
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