Owaisi rips apart 'vote-cutter' charge, says 'NDA would've won regardless of AIMIM'

The war of words between AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Congress escalated further as he opined that the latter is blaming its own failures on his party's success. He mentioned that AIMIM had contested 20 seats winning 5 of them while NDA and Mahagatbandhan had won 6 and 9 seats respectively. Owaisi pointed out that NDA's victory margin on the seats that it won- Sahebganj, Chhatarpur, Narpatganj, Pranpur, Barari, and Raniganj was more than the votes secured by his party.

He added that NDA would have won from the aforesaid constituencies even if the AIMIM candidate was not in the fray. He also took a dig at the 'vote-cutter' and 'radicalization' charges levelled against him, slamming RJD for fielding a candidate from the 'Durga Vahini' organization. Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accused AIMIM of sabotaging its vote bank in the Seemanchal region to help BJP. Taking on the Congress party, Owaisi asserted that his party would contest every election in the country. 

Read: After Bihar Poll Debacle, Chirag Paswan Admits 'wanted To Hamper Tally Of Nitish's JDU'

Read: LJP Cheated NDA; Modi Biggest Reason For Our Bihar Victory: Bhupender Yadav

AIMIM's foray into Bihar politics

In October 2019, AIMIM opened its account in the Bihar Assembly after Qamrul Hoda defeated BJP's Sweety Singh by 10,211 votes. Initially, Owaisi joined hands with Samajwadi Janata Dal (Democratic) to form the 'United Democratic Secular Alliance'. However, AIMIM became a part of a larger coalition- 'Grand Democratic Secular Front' on October 8 along with Mayawati's BSP, Upendra Kushwaha-led RLSP, SJD(D) and Om Prakash Rajbhar-led SBSP. Kushwaha has been declared as the Chief Ministerial face of this tie-up. The alliance won a total of 6 seats.

Read: Jyotiraditya Scindia Attributes Bihar & By-poll Wins To PM Modi's Effective Leadership

Bihar election results

The 2020 Bihar Assembly election witnessed a voter turnout of 57.05% as against that of 56.66% in the 2015 polls. The polls turned out to be a nail-biting contest with NDA emerging victorious in 125 seats as against that of 110 seats won by the Mahagatbandhan. BJP, RJD, JD(U), Congress won 74, 75, 43 and 19 seats respectively. With 4 seats each, VIP and HAM (S) had a crucial role to play in the ruling alliance breaching the majority mark. Similarly, AIMIM made a huge mark in Bihar politics as 5 of its candidates were declared winners.

Read: Left Parties Claim Irregularities In Final Stages Of Vote Counting In Bihar