The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has dramatically reshaped the narrative of Maharashtra’s civic elections, emerging as one of the most consequential surprise performers in the state. With 126 corporator seats across 13 municipal corporations, the Hyderabad-based party has recorded its strongest-ever municipal showing in Maharashtra. But that’s not all.
The party has also outpaced established regional players such as the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and closed in on the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT). The results signal a broader recalibration of urban politics in the state, particularly in minority-dominated pockets. The results also mark a sharp revival for AIMIM after its setbacks in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
In an interview with The Indian Express, AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi attributed the party’s improved performance to sustained grassroots engagement rather than short-term electoral alliances or issue-specific mobilisation.
“We have been active everywhere, even in places where we did not win in the parliamentary and Assembly polls. We kept meeting people, worked on their issues, and organised multiple public meetings. Our leaders travelled extensively,” Owaisi said.
ALSO READ‘Fight for Marathi people is our existence’: Thackerays vow ‘long-term battle’ as BJP ends 25-year BMC reign
Scale of AIMIM’s victory
The scale of the gains and their geographic spread, showed the depth of AIMIM’s recovery after its relatively weak showing in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Its most striking performance came in Sambhajinagar, formerly Aurangabad, where the party won 33 seats in the 115-member civic body.
The city has been central to AIMIM’s rise in Maharashtra and is also home to state party chief Imtiyaz Jaleel, who has represented the constituency both as an MP and MLA.
Owaisi pointed to the parliamentary contest in Sambhajinagar to show the continuity of AIMIM’s base. In that election, Imtiyaz Jaleel was defeated after both the BJP and opposition parties aligned against him, yet he still secured over three lakh votes. “About a month-and-a-half ago, in the municipal elections, we won 85 seats. This is God’s grace and the trust of the people. Everybody worked very hard,” Owaisi told IE.
AIMIM’s strengthened presence
Beyond Sambhajinagar, the party recorded notable wins across northern and central Maharashtra. AIMIM secured 21 seats in Malegaon, 14 in Nanded, 13 in Amravati, 10 in Dhule, eight in Solapur, six in Nagpur and five in Thane.
It also opened its account or strengthened its presence in smaller urban centres such as Akola (three seats), Ahilyanagar and Jalna (two each), and Chandrapur (one seat). In Mumbai, the party’s rise was particularly telling, with its tally jumping from two seats in 2017 to eight this year.
Taken together, the results signal not just numerical growth but a widening of AIMIM’s urban footprint.
ALSO READThe battle for BMC: Shinde moves corporators to hotel after Uddhav’s ‘if god is willing’ threat
Muslim voters shifting to ‘secular’ parties?
The party’s success has reignited debate about whether Muslim voters in urban Maharashtra are decisively shifting away from traditional “secular” parties towards formations led by community figures. Owaisi rejected this framing outright. “What kind of secular parties are you talking about?” he asked, arguing that AIMIM’s victories should not be seen solely through a religious prism.
He cited Malegaon, where AIMIM MLA Mohammed Ismail Abdul Khalique represents the constituency and Govandi, where the party won a majority of the eight seats. In Sambhajinagar, he noted, a Hindu AIMIM candidate emerged victorious. “You cannot look at everything only through the prism of one religion. It is wrong to see AIMIM’s victory through the prism of religion. What will you then call BJP victories?” Owaisi said.
The civic poll results were particularly damaging for parties such as the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, which once commanded significant minority support in several urban pockets.
Asked why these parties performed poorly, Owaisi said the answer lay with them. “Only they can answer why this is happening. We are doing our work and people are free to choose. Elections are the best form of expressing like or dislike,” he said.
According to Owaisi, repeated electoral defeats have eroded the credibility of these parties among voters, particularly the youth. He linked AIMIM’s rise to governance failures and unmet civic needs. “Muslim and Dalit areas are not well developed. In many areas, water comes once every five days and people have to buy drinking water, while the BJP claims it has a triple-engine government. These are issues that perturb people,” he said.
ALSO READ‘Procedural lapses, stale evidence’: 114 days later, Sonam Wangchuk still in jail as family alleges ‘delay tactics’
Road ahead
Looking ahead, Owaisi suggested that the civic poll results have given AIMIM momentum that could reshape its role in Maharashtra politics. He cited narrow Assembly defeats to argue that the party is closer to breaking through at the state level.
In Shivaji Nagar–Makhurd, for instance, he said projecting the latest civic poll votes would give AIMIM a winning margin of around 20,000 votes. In Dhule, where a former AIMIM leader had earlier defected to Ajit Pawar’s camp, the party has now secured 12 corporator seats, signalling renewed organisational strength.
Despite the surge, Owaisi cautioned against complacency. “Now we are preparing for the Zilla Parishad polls. We cannot sit on today’s laurels,” he said, quoting former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar. “After you make a century, the next day you have to start from scratch. We have to start from scratch, work on the ground and use this momentum to build the party further in the state.” |
