AIMIM makes major gains in Maha civic polls, leads in Shambhaji Nagar, Malegaon
AIMIM makes major gains in Maha civic polls, leads in Shambhaji Nagar, Malegaon
M.U.H
17/01/202611
As the BJP-led Mahayuti is making big wins in the civic body elections across Maharashtra, Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has also put up an impressive performance with notable notable gains particularly in Muslim-dominated wards.
The AIMIM is leading in 114 seats, AIMIM's Shareque Naqshbandi was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. The Owaisi-led party is leading with 33 seats in Sambhajinagar, 15 seats in Amravati, 21 in Malegaon, 14 in Nanded Waghala, 10 in Dhule, eight in Solapur, six in Mumbai, five in Thane, 2 in Jalna and one in Chandrapur. AIMIM is, in fact, one of the key parties that cut into the Congress's traditional support base as the grand old party is staring at a collapse of its urban base in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
The party was confident about its performance as national spokesperson Waris Pathan on Thursday after the exit polls said the AIMIM would achieve "great success" in the BMC polls.
“This is an exit poll, not an accurate poll, and whatever is being shown, this isn't the first time it's happened. It's happened many times before that something was shown in the poll, and in the end, it turned out to be something else. Tomorrow is the vote counting, so tomorrow the results will come out. By tomorrow evening, everything will be clear. Who won, who lost, everything will be known... We are confident that the people have blessed us with their votes... We will achieve great success,” Pathan was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
AIMIM's message for BJP
One of the key candidates of the AIMIM who emerged victorious in the Maharashtra civic body polls is Imtiaz Jaleel from Shambhaji Nagar. As he thanked the people for voting in his favour, Jaleel said, “If the BJP takes better decisions for the city's people, we are ready to extend our support; otherwise, we will fulfill the responsibility of the opposition.”
How Owaisi turned the tables for AIMIM
AIMIM's Naqshabandi told PTI that the party initially faced a challenge from its own people over candidature in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. However, Owaisi's presence helped party perform well. "The presence of Asaduddin Owaisi and his rallies in potent pockets resulted in AIMIM winning 33 out of 37 seats we contested here. We have bagged wins from Mumbai to Chandrapur this time," he was quoted as saying.
Owaisi's door-to-door campaign also helped the party to improve its tally. Owaisi gave more time to the campaign when compared to 2015 and succeeded in overcoming dissidence by speaking to disgruntled leaders and convincing nearly 70 percent of them, Naqshbandi said.
"The rest had already moved ahead by joining other political parties. We brought these people together and this got converted into votes. There were divisions among the opposition parties, which proved to be an opportunity to us. Moreover Asaduddin Owaisi went door to door in the areas where we were contesting. He pointed out local civic issues in smaller rallies which appealed to the voter," he added. Moreover, narrow losses, like the one faced by Imtiaz Jaleel in the 2024 assembly elections from Aurangabad East, had hurt workers who put in extra efforts, Naqshbandi added.
Why the Maharashtra tally matters for AIMIM
The tally is significant as it marks Owaisi-led party's major win outside of its bastion in Telangana. The party, which positions itself as protector of minority rights, has ventured into the political arena in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, but failed to make a mark. In the Bihar assembly elections held in November last year, Owaisi's party secured five seats out total 243.
