Ahead of Assembly polls, AIMIM to set up first office in UP; eyes contesting 100 Muslim-dominated seats

By Kamna Hajela
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 6 (ANI): In a bid to extend its reach in Uttar Pradesh ahead of Assembly polls, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is set to open its first party office in the state in Bahraich district, approximately 120 kilometres from capital Lucknow.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi is scheduled to arrive in the state and inaugurate the office in Devipatan Mandal of Bahraich on July 8
Hyderabad-based AIMIM is expanding its party's presence outside Telangana. The party had fielded its candidates in Assembly elections of Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal.
The Owaisi-led party will try to woo voters of Bahraich and its nearby areas dominated by the Muslim community in the run-up to Assembly elections due next year.
The Hyderabad MP had earlier announced that AIMIM will contest 100 seats in Uttar Pradesh polls.
At present, there are 110 Assembly constituencies where Muslim voters make up around 30-39 per cent. On 44 seats, this percentage rises to 40-49 per cent while on 11 seats, the Muslim voters are around 50-65 per cent.
Owaisi had earlier visited Lucknow and has been in talks with smaller political outfits. He is also part of 'Bhaagidari Sankalp Morcha'.
He is in touch with Om Prakash Rajbhar's Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), Shivpal Singh Yadav's Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (PSP), Keshav Dev Maurya's Mahan Dal and Krishna Patel's Apna Dal.
AIMIM National spokesperson and secretary of Uttar Pradesh unit Aseem Waqar said although his party has not opened an office, the AIMIM has been actively involved in the state's politics.
In the 2017 Assembly elections, AIMIM fielded its candidates on 38 seats but could not manage to win even a single constituency. It decided not to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, however, Owaisi campaigned against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Waqar said that Owaisi had toured Bahraich, Gonda and Balrampur districts in 2019.
In 2017, the BJP won a landslide victory winning 312 Assembly seats. The party secured a 39.67 per cent vote share in the elections for 403-member Assembly. Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged 47 seats, BSP won 19 while Congress could manage to win only seven seats. (ANI)