Owaisi's AIMIM eyes '20 seats' in Bengaluru civic body polls after North Karnataka success

With its triumph in four seats in two municipal corporations in the 2021 North Karnataka Civic Body Elections, the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has now planned to set its feet in the Bengaluru city council. The party based primarily in the state of Telangana, had tried to prove its mettle in Karnataka earlier but had been disappointed until the recent victory in the urban local body polls in north Karnataka.

It should be noted here that during the 2015 Bengaluru civic body polls, the then Congress government led by former CM Siddaramaiah had barred Owaisi's AIMIM to arrange meetings and gatherings in the city which led to the party being sidelined from contesting the election.

AIMIM to contest BBMP polls in at least 20 seats 

"In the coming BBMP elections, which are due to be held, we will contest in at least 20 seats if not more," an AIMIM Spokesperson Zia Nomani was quoted as saying to the TNM. Nomani informed that the outfit will be contesting from areas in east Bengaluru and other parts dominated by Muslims and Dalits.
“We are already active in places like Shivajinagar, DJ Halli and Pulekshi Nagar, where we are able to work with the people and highlight the existing lacunas on the ground and how we plan to sort them. We have a strong women’s wing. We are actively working in slum areas and are working on ensuring that they get vaccinated. We are very hopeful about doing good in these areas whenever elections take place,” added Zia.

Former Cong & JD(S) corporators are approaching to join AIMIM: Party Spokesperson

According to the AIMIM Spokesperson, former corporators of the Congress and the JD(S) are approaching the outfit after witnessing a decent possibility of a win for the party in the upcoming civic elections.
The last Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) elections took place in 2015 when the five-year term of the previous council ended. The BBMP elections have been postponed as the state government has been endeavouring the process of delimitation to increase the number of wards from the previous 198 to 243. 

AIMIM wins maiden Karnataka elections

Notably, the AIMIM led by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi marked their first win in Karnataka as the party managed to seize three seats in Hubli-Dharwad and one ticket in the Belgavi urban local body elections. The four seats meant vital for the party as the count stood at only one seat less than the Janata Dal (Secular), which is considered as a significant third party in the state across the three municipalities. 
The party primarily based in Telangana has been working instrumentally in pockets of states like Maharashtra and Bihar in the recent past and eventually observing the good result in Hubli-Dharwad elections, they are hopeful of having their MLA from the Hubballi-Dharwad East.

Image: PTI