The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has started an aggressive campaign in West Bengal, which goes to polls in April-May this year. In a move which has sent chills down the TMC’s spine, AIMIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi has deputed seven MLAs to the poll-bound state as observers. Interestingly, five of the said MLAs who have been deputed as observers to West Bengal’s bordering areas are leaders who only recently got elected to Bihar’s state assembly from Seemanchal region.
Ever since its unexpected performance in Bihar, where the AIMIM won five seats in Muslim-populated regions of Seemanchal out of the 19 candidates fielded, the sky is the limit for the Owaisi-led party. A major cause of the RJD not being able to form the government along with its alliance partners in Bihar was the AIMIM, which incredibly cut traditional RJD-favoured Muslim votes. In West Bengal, Owaisi hopes to do the same to TMC, which will naturally benefit the BJP.
Two of the seven MLAs are from Telangana, while Owaisi has also fielded Bihar AIMIM youth president Adil Hasan as an observer for Murshidabad, Birbhum and Nadia districts. Accompanying Hasan is AIMIM’s Bihar unit president and Amour MLA Akhtarul Iman as an observer to the above-mentioned districts. Jokihat MLA Mohammad Shahnawaz and Kochadhaman MLA Mohammad IzharAsfi have been appointed as observers for North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, Cooch Behar and Alipurduar districts.
Biasi MLA Syed Ruknuddin Ahmed and Bahadurganj MLA Anjar Naeemi have been appointed observers for Malda district. Two MLAs from Telangana – Zafar Hussain Miraj and Riyazul Hasan Ifandi have been appointed observers for Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Midnapore, Eastern and Western Bardhaman, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas.
As per the instructions of AIMIM President Barrister @asadowaisi, the following persons are appointed as observers of West Bengal for upcoming assembly elections. pic.twitter.com/cEAnAwsqza
— AIMIM (@aimim_national) January 31, 2021
Interestingly, the five MLAs from Bihar have been deployed to districts adjacent to Bihar’s Seemanchal region, with a high Muslim population. The AIMIM’s game plan for West Bengal is simple – polarise the Muslim vote in its favour instead of letting it benefit the TMC. Not only will this strategy ensure that the TMC’s loses the upcoming elections, but will also establish Asaduddin Owaisi and his party as a big player in the state, in the Muslim-dominated constituencies at least.
The BJP cannot afford to have over 27 per cent of Bengal’s Muslims rallying in the TMC’s favour. Owaisi’s AIMIM will ensure that the Muslim vote is assuredly split between them and the TMC, and perhaps even the Congress. The Muslim community plays a decisive role in 120 out of 294 assembly seats in the state, which is why the AIMIM is focusing on such Muslim-dominant seats alone.
