AIMIM To Join Oppn Alliance In Bihar? Party Leader Says 'In Touch With RJD Leaders'
Speaking on the alliance with Mahagathbandhan, Akhtarul Iman said that the party has presented a proposal before the alliance, adding that the talks are yet to be finalised.
Five years after making its successful debut in Bihar, winning 5 seats, Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is likely to join the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan for the assembly polls in the state, scheduled later this year.
The AIMIM leaders in Bihar are in touch with the RJD leaders and have expressed optimism about forging an alliance.
"We are interested in having an alliance with the Mahagathbandhan. We are very positive about forging it. Our ideology is to defeat the BJP and empower Bihar. Our fight with the BJP is same as Congress’s. We want the grand alliance to take AIMIM on board," AIMIM spokesperson Adil Hasan said, according to The Indian Express.
The opposition Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, which gave a touch contest to the ruling NDA bloc, comprises of Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD, Congress and Left parties.
The report quoting AIMIM sources said that the party has planned to contest over 50 assembly seats out of 243 in the Bihar polls.
However, they added that the party is flexible in choosing its seats and would be ready to contest fewer seats if alliance partners agree to accommodate it.
AIMIM, which won its first assembly seat in Bihar in the 2019 bypolls, won 5 out of 20 seats it contested, giving a dent to the opposition alliance. The party won Amour, Kochadhamam, Jokihat, Baisi and Bahadurgunj.
However, in June 2022, the party suffered a blow when four of its five MLAs, except state president Akhtarul Iman, defected to the RJD.
In the 2015 assembly polls, the AIMIM performed poorly in Bihar, losing all six seats it contested in Seemanchal area.
Speaking on the alliance with Mahagathbandhan, Akhtarul Iman said that the party has presented a proposal before the alliance, adding that the talks are yet to be finalised.
"We have put up a proposal that if you want to weaken the communal forces, then like-minded parties against them should come together. We want our participation. We have presented this proposal before Mahagathbandhan in Bihar. But nothing can be confirmed until things are finalised," Iman said.
However, RJD spokesperson Nawal Kishore dismissed any proposal of alliance with AIMIM saying that he did not have any information about the proposal of the party joining grand alliance.
Bihar Congress spokesperson Prem Chandra Mishra also dismissed any speculations of talks with AIMIM, saying he had no such information.
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