Asaduddin Owaisi said AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) is open to an alliance with the INDIA bloc in Uttar Pradesh, but that doesn't mean they can be taken for granted. Accusing the Samajwadi Party-led alliance of showing a tendency to treat UP's Muslim population merely as a vote bank, Owaisi warned that the party will go solo in the upcoming assembly elections if seat-sharing talks don't take place.
AIMIM is open to an alliance because preventing the BJP from forming a government for a third time is the greater goal. But that shouldn't be mistaken for weakness or a lack of grit to fight the elections alone by the SP-led Opposition alliance in the state, Owaisi said.
"I wanted to say this to the Samajwadi Party and the political parties of the INDIA alliance: whether it is the Muslims of Uttar Pradesh or the 20 crore Muslims across India, we are not your personal property... If you view us as mere property, the upcoming assembly elections will teach you a lesson," news agency ANI quoted Owaisi as saying in UP's Shravasti.
The Hyderabad MP didn't mince his words as he reminded Akhilesh Yadav's party that they are extending a hand of friendship because of "strength and magnanimity". "If you reject this hand, listen closely, SP: this hand is formidable; it can even snap the very cords of your throat... Let us join forces to stop them. If you do not accept our proposal, so be it; the AIMIM will contest the election..." he said.
AIMIM speaks not only for Muslims but for justice for everyone, including Dalits. This is the biggest difference between AIMIM and the Samajwadi Party, he reportedly added.
In the 2017 local body polls, AIMIM won 32 seats in Uttar Pradesh. However, in the 2022 Assembly elections, the party did not win any of the 100 seats it contested. Nevertheless, they ate into the anti-BJP votes, which is said to have worked in favour of the NDA in several seats.
In the 403-member house, the NDA currently has 294 representatives (the BJP has 257), while the Samajwadi Party and Congress have 100 and 2 MLAs respectively.
