Open to alliances to defeat BJP in Uttar Pradesh elections: Asaduddin Owaisi

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has thrown down the gauntlet for the next year’s UP elections. In an exclusive interview to

Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui

, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said their’s will be a direct fight against the BJP government over its failure to handle several key issues. Excerpts:

AIMIM has invited applications for 100 seats in UP. This, when your party is part of Bhagidari Sankalp

Morcha

, which is yet to decide on seat-sharing?
AIMIM state president Shauquat Ali has clarified that only applications have been invited for 100 seats. The number of seats will be decided by Morcha chief Om Prakash Rajbhar in consultation with AIMIM. It could be less or more than 100 seats.


Is Morcha open to alliance with any opposition party?
I can only reiterate what the Morcha convenor has said: We are open to an alliance to defeat BJP. The best person to talk about alliances is Om Prakash Rajbhar.

You are scheduled to visit the mausoleum of Ghazi Salar Masud in Bahraich who was assassinated by

Suheldev

, the king of

Shravasti

. He is an icon for Rajbhar’s party. What’s the message behind this visit?
Yes, I will visit the dargah. There is no political message. Whenever I visit any place, I also go to a famous mausoleum or madrassa in that city.


AIMIM had initially announced that it will contest all seats in West Bengal. Later you fought only on seven seats. What are the chances of AIMIM doing a West Bengal in UP?
Politics is a long haul. When we contest elections for the first time in any state, we start with a limited number of seats because the aim is to get a foothold. It also sends out a message to the cadres that the party wants to expand its base.


In 2017 UP polls, AIMIM had contested on 36 seats but got only 0.2% (2,05, 232) votes. What has changed on the ground that prompted you to prepare for 100 seats?
We have a stronger organisational presence in UP now. Besides, we have 100% booth presence in about 80 assembly seats. In the past five years, we have won municipal corporators and zila parishad seats. I have been constantly visiting UP.

You recently said AIMIM will not allow BJP to form the next government in UP and Yogi Adityanath to become the CM again. This, when AIMIM does not have a single MLA in UP.
No. That statement is being projected as a political turf war between two individuals. Yogi is the CM and has the collective responsibility towards the misrule in UP. We have been saying that we will defeat the BJP. Since Yogi is the CM, the fight will be against his party on the basis of his government’s pathetic performance in handling Covid, unemployment and other important issues.

What are the important issues for UP assembly elections?
This time it will be a direct fight between Yogi Adityanath and the women who lost their husbands to Covid. Yogi will face orphans who have lost their parents because of the government's failure and gross mismanagement during the Covid second wave. Yogi will face the ire of unemployed youth.

Your direct attack on BJP is being seen as an attempt to polarise elections which traditionally helps BJP. Your comments?
Accusing us for division of secular votes is a mere bogey that so called secular parties raise whenever we talk of what the Muslims got in return from the party they voted for. What is wrong in highlighting that Muslims are not getting their due share in UP. AIMIM did not contest the 2014 or 2019 Lok Sabha elections in UP. What happened to the ‘secular parties’ which badly lost one election after another when Owaisi wasn’t there to “divide the votes”.

BSP has announced it will not ally with AIMIM while the SP is silent on the issue. Why?
The problem is Owaisi has started pointing out that 58% of Muslims are illiterate while the literacy rate of the majority community is about 70%. Literacy rate of Muslim women is the lowest. Is Asaduddin Owaisi responsible for this? Parties which have always enjoyed the support of Muslims and people who have led such parties and became CMs should answer this.


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