Owaisi forms separate anti-BJP front for Bihar polls, attacks RJD for 'spoiler of secular votes' remarks

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi headed All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Saturday tied up with the party of former union minister Devendra Prasad Yadav for fighting upcoming Bihar Assembly elections and attacked RJD for dubbing him a "spolier" of secular votes.

Addressing a press conference with Yadav here, Owaisi said they have laid foundation of UDSA (United Democratic Secular Alliance) which would assess as on how many seats they should field candidates in the poll fray in the state. Yadav is heading Samajwadi Janata Dal (D). Coming down heavily on the RJD for dubbing him "vote katwa" (spoiler of votes) of the secular forces, Owaisi asled what happened to these so called "thekedars" (feudal lords) of the anti-BJP votes in the 2019 general elections in Bihar.

In reply to a question that the parties of the opposition grand alliance coalition are blamings him for trying to help the BJP by planning to field candidates in the October- November polls, Owaisi said "they are playing old cassette". "AIMIM contested only Kisanganj seat in the 2019 general election in Bihar and our candidate secured 3 lakh votes while that of the JD(U) bagged 3.25 lakh votes and the winning Congress nominee garnered 3.50 lakh. Can we be dismissed as an insignificant player after this and winning a seat in the assembly bypoll?" he asked.

"What happened in 2019 Parliamentary election in Bihar...did RJD claiming itself to be champions of the minorities and secular voters win any seat?" he said.

The NDA had won 39 out of total 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in last general election while Congress managed to win one seat of Kisanganj.

Asked that the Bihar AIMIM president recently met RJD leaders reportedly for an electoral tie-up but the Lalu Prasad headed party did not give it any weight, Owaisi said "the meetings were not as you are guessing."

After gaining a toehold in the Bihar politics by winning an assembly seat in the muslims dominated Kisanganj constituency early this year, AIMIM is trying to increase its footprint in the state by planning to contest some seats in Seemanchal areas having sizable minorities population.