Kickstarting his campaign for the upcoming Bihar assembly polls, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi is organising a four-day 'Seemanchal Nyay Yatra' in the Seemanchal region of the state. The yatra started on September 24 from Kishanganj and will conclude on September 27.
"It is wrong to say that election campaigning is starting now. The election campaign has already begun, and under the leadership of our Akhtarul Iman, work has been ongoing. Now, in Seemanchal, we have a four-day visit planned. In various constituencies, we will go and meet the public and hold public meetings," the Hyderabad MP said on Tuesday, while speaking to reporters in West Bengal's Siliguri.
Seemanchal, a region with significant Muslim population
The Seemanchal region, which was once considered to be a stronghold of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), consists of four districts - Kishanganj, Araria, Purnia and Katihar. All of these four districts have significant Muslim population, a reason why Owaisi is focusing on this region. In 2020 Bihar assembly elections, Owaisi's AIMIM had won five seats, and all of them were in the Seemanchal region.
As per Owaisi's party, many local leaders have also shown interest in joining the AIMIM ahead of Bihar elections.
Seemanchal, a former bastion of RJD
Before 2020, Seemanchal was considered to be a bastion for the RJD. In fact, all the four districts were once dominated by RJD's Mohammed Taslimuddin, who was known for his closeness with former chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. However, RJD's influence reduced in the region after Taslimuddin's death in September 2017.
Taslimuddin's demise allowed the AIMIM to increase its influence in Seemanchal, and it ultimately won five seats in the region in 2020 polls. However, four of its five MLAs later defected to the RJD.
AIMIM's alliance offer to RJD
Notably, the AIMIM has also offered to join the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan for Bihar polls. However, the RJD has refused to enter into an alliance with the AIMIM, drawing Owaisi's ire. "Our Bihar president Akhtarul Iman wrote three letters to Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav expressing our wish to join the INDIA bloc. We had demanded only six seats. We are not interested in any ministerial berth. We only wanted to be treated as equals and not as slaves in the joint fight against BJP and RSS. But, so far, no response has come from them," said Owaisi on Thursday.
RJD's vote bank mainly consists of the Yadavs and the Muslims, and allowing the AIMIM to enter the grand alliance would mean giving a significant chunk of its voters to Owaisi's party. Besides, this may even give the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a chance to accuse the Mahagathbandhan of resorting to politics of appeasement.
BJP keeps an eye on Owaisi
Although the BJP has dismissed Owaisi's yatra, it is keeping a close eye on it. In the 2020 Bihar polls, the saffron party had won eight seats in the Seemanchal region. "It is none of our concern with whom Mr Owaisi is trying to ally. But the bottom line is to gather Muslim votes, pure vote bank politics," said BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad earlier.
