AIMIM General Secretary Aftab Ahmad Siddiqui resigns ahead of Bihar polls, joins Congress

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], September 14 (ANI): Ahead of Bihar Assembly elections, Jharkhand Pradesh General Secretary of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Aftab Ahmad Siddiqui has resigned from the party along with some of his comrades and joined the All India Congress party on Sunday, in presence of State Minister Banna Gupta and Congress District President.
Siddiqui told ANI that AIMIM is working for one community, and he wants to work and serve people irrespective of caste and community for which he has joined Congress.
"Today, the condition of the country is not hidden from anyone, even a neighbouring country like Nepal is threatening us. The 'Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb' is being violated. I worked hard on field reaching out every village, but AIMIM has never bothered to talk or know the situation in the state and districts," said Siddiqui.
"My view was if there is no alliance with other like-minded and secular party's then it is difficult to contest and gain victory on our own. AIMIM is working for one community, unlike Congress. I want to work and serve people irrespective of their caste and community," he added.
"Whether AIMIM will win seats in the Bihar elections is a matter of speculation. But I believe that it should enter into an alliance with other like-minded parties. I gave my best during the Jharkhand elections, but just fighting the elections won't serve any purpose. They should hold talks with Congress, RJD and other such parties," he said while commenting on upcoming Bihar polls.
AIMIM has declared that it will field candidates from 32 seats in the upcoming Assembly polls in Bihar. The AIMIM has currently one MLA in the State, i.e., Kamrul Huda who had won from Kishanganj seat in the by-election held last year.
Before holding the post of AIMIM General Secretary, Siddiqui has previously been the district president of BJP's Minority Morcha. Before that, he was in the Samajwadi Party and had also contested in the assembly elections on a Samajwadi Party ticket.
Bihar Assembly elections for 243 seats are due in October-November and the tenure of the current Assembly is scheduled to end on November 29.
The Election Commission has not yet taken a final call on poll dates in Bihar due to the coronavirus pandemic. (ANI)