ShowQuick ReadSummary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed
- Akhtarul Iman said AIMIM is ready to join the RJD-Congress alliance if it gets six seats
- AIMIM won five seats in 2020; four MLAs later joined RJD
- RJD leaders say that if it gives AIMIM space in Seemanchal, they will demand seats in other areas
Did our AI summary help? Let us know. Switch To Beeps Mode New Delhi: Last Thursday, MLA and AIMIM's Bihar chief Akhtarul Iman arrived at RJD founder Lalu Prasad Yadav's residence at Patna's Circular Road with a posse of drumbeaters. The drums beating, Mr Iman and his associates distributed pamphlets and told the media that AIMIM was ready to join the RJD-Congress Mahagathbandhan if it was given six seats to contest in the minority-dominated Seemanchal region.
The AIMIM had pulled off a stunner by winning five seats in the 2020 polls. Four of these MLAs later switched to the RJD.
AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has told NDTV that they have reached out to the RJD thrice for an alliance, but have not received a response. "Akhtarul Iman wrote two letters to Lalu Prasad Yadav and a third and last to Tejashwi Yadav. He wrote that we are ready to take six seats. You don't even have to give us a ministry if you come to power. What more can we do?" he asked.
"When they took our four MLAs, nothing happened. When the BJP took Shiv Sena's MLAs, all hell broke loose," Mr Owaisi said.
AIMIM's entry into the Mahagathbandhan is likely to prevent a division of anti-NDA votes and boost its prospects in the high-voltage election. Why then is the Tejashwi Yadav-led party opposed to its inclusion in the Opposition bloc?
RJD Sources On Why No Pact With AIMIM
According to RJD leaders, Muslims comprise a big chunk of their voter base, so they see no reason to tie up with AIMIM, which reaches out to the same base. Asked about AIMIM's fifer last time, RJD leaders said four of those elected as AIMIM MLAs were disgruntled RJD leaders who did not get a party ticket. "They went to Owaisi's camp. And after they won, they came back because of their long-time association with RJD," a source in the party said. The highly-placed source also asked if Mr Owaisi would be willing to share seats in its bastion, Hyderabad, if the RJD reaches out for an alliance.
Muslim Vote And Seemanchal Battleground
Election data indicate that the Muslim voter in Bihar votes differently depending on the minority community's population in a particular seat. The four districts of Seemanchal, with 24 Assembly seats, are Muslim-dominated and one of the most sensitive battlegrounds of Bihar politics. Purnia, Katihar, Araria and Kishanganj have a Muslim population of nearly 38 per cent, 44 per cent, 43 per cent and 68 per cent, respectively. This is a key reason why Muslim voters here viewed AIMIM as an alternative to the RJD and voted for them in large numbers last time. In another area, where the community has a lower population, there would be a tendency to vote for the party with the highest winnability to prevent a division of votes.
What RJD Fears
RJD leaders say that if they give AIMIM space in Seemanchal, it will demand seats in other Muslim-dominated areas in the future. These include the Mithilanchal seats of Darbhanga and Madhubani.
But not joining hands can have its consequences.
In the 2020 election, the NDA won 12 seats out of Seemanchal's 24 (BJP 8, JDU 4), the Mahagathbandhan clinched 7 (Congress 5, RJD 1, CPIML 1), and the AIMIM won 5. The seats AIMIM won went to the Mahagathbandhan in the 2015 election, when JDU was part of the Opposition alliance. So a division of votes has the potential to harm the RJD and the INDIA bloc.
But the Tejashwi Yadav-led party fears something else. If the AIMIM is allowed into the Opposition bloc, the BJP campaign machinery can project the election as a Hindu vs Muslim contest. This can lead to a poll polarisation on religious lines, benefiting the BJP across the state. RJD does not want to lose the Bihar battle for a Seemanchal victory.
Questions, however, remain. The Mahagathbandhan has taken in Pashupati Paras-led Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, the breakaway faction of Lok Janshakti Party and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. These parties have hardly any political muscle in Bihar, as compared to AIMIM. But the RJD seems determined not to bite the AIMIM bullet.
Disclaimer: If your rights are infringed, please contact the webmaster and we will delete the infringing content in a timely manner. Thank you for your cooperation! |
