Asaduddin Owaisi rejects Congress' allegations of AIMIM being BJP's B-team

Rejecting the claims that his party is BJP's 'B team', All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was defeated from Amethi constituency, a seat that has almost always been held by the Indian National Congress, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections which the AIMIM did not even contest. The statement of the AIMIM chief came during a press conference in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on Monday, where he was toured to discuss the forthcoming poll preparations in the state. While speaking to the reporters, Owaisi retaliated about why there are only three Muslim MLAs in Gujarat and added there should have been at least 10 to 11 Muslim MLAs in the state Assembly.

Further, the AIMIM chief also sought to know the responsibility of not electing a single MLA from minority communities since 1984 in Gujarat."Can Congress explain why it gets repeatedly defeated in Gujarat? Is it because of Muslim or non-Muslim votes? Not a single Congress candidate won in the 2019 parliamentary elections (in Gujarat). Party leader Rahul Gandhi lost in Amethi. How was he defeated? We did not have any candidate contesting against him," the AIMIM president said. "(Rahul Gandhi) wins from Wayanad (in Kerala) because of around 35 per cent minority voters (in that constituency). We are not concerned about allegations of the B-team, people are watching, and they will decide," Mr Owaisi said.

Owaisi holds back from declaring number of seats party will contest ahead of Gujarat elections

While speaking about the seat-sharing for the next Assembly elections in Gujarat, the AIMIM chief said that the state unit will finalise the number of seats to be contested. "We will contest the 2022 Assembly elections in Gujarat with all our might and it will be our effort to see that members of the AIMIM make it to the Assembly," the Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad said. "Our state president (Sabir Kabliwala) and the Gujarat team will decide on how many seats we are going to contest the elections. We are confident of getting good support," he added. Without disclosing the number of seats the party would field its candidates, Asaduddin Owaisi identified some of the Muslim dominated areas where the party may field its candidates. 

(With inputs from PTI)

(Image: PTI)