Congress MP Digvijaya Singh accuses Owaisi of playing 'fixed match' with BJP in UP polls

AIMIM's thrust on the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls hasn't gone down well with the Congress party which has accused Asaduddin Owaisi of indirectly helping BJP. While multiple opposition parties including Congress and SP have alleged that Owaisi benefits the saffron party by dividing the votes of the Muslim community, the AIMIM supremo has consistently rejected this charge and instead taken on the opposition parties for their alleged inability to take on BJP. Asserting that Muslims should have an independent voice in UP, Owaisi has revealed that his party intends to contest 100 seats in the Assembly election.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Congress MP Digvjaya Singh questioned Owaisi on why he doesn't contest all seats in his home state Telangana. He opined, "I have been saying from the beginning, AIMIM and BJP are playing a fixed match". Interestingly in January this year, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj claimed that AIMIM had backed his party in the Bihar polls and would do the same in the West Bengal and UP Assembly polls.

AIMIM's gradual expansion across India

With 1 MP and 7 MLAs in Telangana, AIMIM is considered a formidable force in Hyderabad. In recent years, however, the party has spread its wings to different parts of the country including Maharashtra and Bihar. For instance, AIMIM bagged one Lok Sabha seat and two Assembly seats in Maharashtra in 2019. Moreover, the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party's candidates won from the Sahebganj, Chhatarpur, Narpatganj, Pranpur, Barari, and Raniganj constituency in the 2020 Bihar Assembly polls. 

In the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation election, AIMIM had the best strike rate among all other parties by winning 44 out of the 51 wards in which it fielded candidates. The party also contested the local bodies' election in Gujarat in an alliance with Chhotubhai Vasava-led Bharatiya Tribal Party winning 17 seats in the Municipalities of Modasa, Godhra and Bharuch. On the other hand, the Owaisi-led party failed to win a single seat in West Bengal as well as Tamil Nadu. 

For the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, AIMIM has joined the 'Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha' which is being led by Om Prakash Rajbhar. It comprises 9 other parties including the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, the Apna Dal faction of Krishna Patel, Rashtroday Party, Rashtriya Bhagidari Party and Janta Kranti Party. However, there has been friction between AIMIM and SBSP recently with the latter keeping the door open for an alliance with BJP.