Muslim Media Interpretation of Asaduddin Owai’s Bihar Gains That Everyone Else Missed

The results of the Bihar Assembly elections have had curious consequences on social media. More than the advance of the BJP in a state it has never ruled; more than the fall of Prime Minister Nitish Kumar; More than the spectacular performance of Tejashwi Yadav fighting without his father, what has gotten on social media is Asaduddin Owaisi winning five seats in Seemanchal.

Even more curious are the resplendent articles that the head of AIMIM has received in print and digital media in English. Critical articles have been few and far between, and have not been written by journalists but by non-journalist commentators such as Yogendra Yadav, Professor Mohammad Ayoob, Khalid Anis Ansari, and Faisal CK.

The only journalist who comprehensively analyzed the AIMIM victory was Tanzil Asif to The wire. The website describes him as a freelance journalist based in Seemanchal. Could it be its roots in the region that helped Asif analyze the factors that contributed to AIMIM’s performance in Seemanchal, factors that, as it showed, were different in each location?

The question arises because the only place where journalists have critically appraised the Hyderabad-based MP is two Muslim news websites, reporting primarily (though not exclusively) news about Muslims. Could it be their roots in the community that helps these websites understand the implications for Muslims of Owaisi’s politics?

One result that stood out in Owai’s performance in Bihar this time was the defeat of his candidate at Kishanganj. This Muslim-dominated constituency rejected Qamrul Huda, just one year after voting him as the first AIMIM MLA in Bihar. When he won the seat in a by-election in October last year, the English media went wild over Owai’s successful Bihar debut. But now, the same media ignored the shameful performance of his MLA: Huda not only lost, but was third after Congress and the BJP.

Once again, Asif was the only one who analyzed this loss as part of his article cited above.

It was Aleem Faizee, editor of India’s oldest Muslim news website ummid.com, who asked Owaisi the question that none of the effusive journalists asked in the many interviews he gave after the results. Faizee’s article entitled ‘Kishanganj is a real question Asaduddin Owaisi needs to answer’ discussed this loss in detail.

The website Muslim mirror published a series of articles on the Bihar results, of which only one, by an academic, praised Owaisi. Delhi-based website editor Syed Zubair Ahmad wrote two pieces, both critical: ‘Owaisi’s foray into Bengal may prove to be a boon for BJP’ and ‘BJP needs visible Owaisi to make Muslims invisible’

What makes Ahmed and Faizee critical when the rest of the English media have their eyes open?

Faizee does not see Hawaii’s electoral victories as extraordinary. They remind him of the early days of Abu Asim Azmi, chairman of the Maharashtra Samajwadi Party. Following the Mumbai riots in 1992-93, Muslims rejected Congress and welcomed Azmi, who spoke on behalf of the community. But when they found out that their MLA and corporate ones weren’t working, they abandoned it.

“Whenever an alternative to Congress or any of the so-called secular parties has emerged, Muslims have voted in favor,” Faizee points out, “And they have gone on to reject these parties when they have not complied, even if they have presented Muslim candidates.” .

This was the case with the two AIMIM MLAs, whose 2014 victory in Maharashtra was hailed as the party’s first breakthrough outside Hyderabad. “AIMIM MLA Waris Pathan’s lack of acting and his kind of communal politics gave Shiv Sena its first victory in Byculla in 2019,” laughs Faizee.

Similarly, the Aurangabad Central seat won by AIMIM’s Imtiaz Jaleel in 2014 is no longer held by the party. The AIMIM candidate lost the Assembly elections held in October last year. This was just four months after Aurangabad voted for Jaleel as the second Lok Sabha MP from AIMIM and the first from Maharashtra.

“Thanks to the Owai campaign in Malegaon, the MLA Congress lost, despite working hard,” says Malegaon resident Faizee, “I can guarantee you that if elections are held today, Mufti Ismail, who won with a ballot from AIMIM, also like the second AIMIM MLA from Maharashtra from Dhule, will lose. ” In his 2014 Assembly campaign, Faizee recalls, Owaisi had promised a university in Malegaon even if his party lost. “Where is?” he asks.

“Anyone who thinks that Owaisi will bring positive change for Muslims is living in a fool’s paradise,” says Faizee, “Except for Waris Pathan and Imtiaz Jaleel, the AIMIM candidates are the same old faces that have passed through everyone else. matches . “

For Syed Zubair Ahmad, it is the “negative polarization” brought about by the Owai campaign style that is alarming, because it ultimately results in a reduction of Muslim representation in general. Bihar had 24 Muslim MLAs in 2015; he’s only 19 now, Ahmad says. But isn’t the BJP responsible for the polarization in the first place? “The use of religion for politics is the main agenda of the BJP and it has worked for the party,” says Ahmad, “but it does not help Muslims. As it stands, thanks to the propaganda of the BJP, where the early Hindus used to vote for Muslims, now they rarely do. Politicians like Salman Khurshid used to win with the help of Hindu and Muslim votes. Not anymore. “

In last year’s Lok Sabha poll, Ahmad explains, Congressional Tariq Anwar lost to Katihar, a Muslim-dominated seat he had won five times, including in 2014, despite the Narendra Modi wave. “It’s not like Muslims rejected it; its percentage of votes reflected the Muslim population of Katihar. It is Hindus who rejected it,” says Ahmad, “if Hindus stop voting for ‘secular’ politicians like Khurshid and Anwar, will do you think they will ever vote for AIMIM? “

Everyone has the right to practice identity politics, says Ahmad, “But Owaisi’s communal rhetoric, like that of AIUDF’s Badruddin Ajmal in Assam, ends up isolating Muslims. Moderate Hindus rush to the BJP when Owaisi enters the scene. essential to bring others with us. “

Owaisi may continue to win some seats here and there, Ahmad predicts, because Muslims feel misled by so-called secular parties that have done nothing for them. But ultimately, he wins by defeating other Muslim candidates, Ahmed notes.

The dangers of communal politics when practiced by a party claiming to speak for the majority are continually discussed by English journalists, as they should be. But what about the dangers of identity politics when practiced by parties that claim to speak for minorities? Should that discussion be left to minority journalists in community media?