AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
Credit: PTI
New Delhi: To the dismay of the I.N.D.I.A bloc, Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) held on to its support base in the Muslim-dominated districts of Bihar's Seemanchal region to retain five seats and damage the Opposition coalition's prospects in another dozen.
“It shows that our work and efforts for the development of one of the most backward regions have been recognised by the people,” Owaisi told DH.
The loss for the RJD-Congress combine was maximum in the four districts — Kishangunj, Araria, Katihar, and Purnia — bordering Nepal and West Bengal, which have a more than 35% Muslim population.
Of the 22 seats here, considered a Congress-RJD stronghold, the NDA managed to win seats as Owaisi’s party turned things into a triangular contest there.
Top Congress and RJD leaders had to bite the dust in Seemanchal. In Kadwa, Congress Legislature Party leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan lost as the AIMIM candidate polled more than 10,000 votes.
The AIMIM also won in Amour in the Purnia district, pushing the Congress to the third spot.
The Kasba seat in Purnia was won by the NDA, even as Owaisi’s candidate polled 35,000 votes.
“We have got support from all communities. Women from an RJD-affiliated family that had seen infant mortality pressed the kite button as we sought to raise issues that affected the people,” said Owaisi.
On his next stop, Owaisi said the performance in Bihar would encourage the party to work hard in Uttar Pradesh, which goes to the polls in 2027.