The Hyderabad-based party wins 2 seats and finishes as runner-up on 3 others in its debut assembly contest in Maharashtra. It got 3rd position on 8 seats leaving BJP, Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP behind.
By Mumtaz Alam, IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi, 20 Oct 2014: When Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi would stand up and speak on the floor of Lok Sabha in eighties and nineties, not only his political rivals or Muslims but the entire country listened to him with rapt attention. The impressive debutant victory of his Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen, now under the leadership of his two sons – Asaduddin Owaisi and Akbaruddin Owaisi – in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, has stunned political parties, and forced Muslims across the country to take the Hyderabad-based party as their own national alternative to pseudo-secular parties. However, its emergence has raised some serious questions or fears as well.
MIM had fielded 20-odd candidates for the 15th October assembly polls in Maharashtra. Most of the results announced yesterday were on predicted lines – BJP almost swept the elections by winning 122 seats alone in the 288-member assembly, first time in its history, and the ruling combine of Congress and Nationalist Congress Party who fought separately got huge defeat. The performance of MIM, in its debut assembly fight in the state, was stunning as unpredicted.
MIM won two Assembly seats – Aurangabad Central defeating Shiv Sena with a margin of around 20 thousand votes and Byculla seat defeating BJP with a margin of around two thousand votes. The party finished as runner-up on three assembly seats – Parbhani, Solapur City Central and Aurangabad East. Not just that, it got third position on eight other seats. On dozen-odd seats, the party performed better than BJP, Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP.
Is emergence of MIM a disturbing development?
With the impressive performance, MIM now will be seen by Muslims as an alternative to several so-called secular parties at national level. The party chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has also made his ambition clear. Talking to reporters, he said MIM provided a political platform to Muslims so that they can make their voice heard. Claiming that the poll campaign in Maharashtra witnessed Dalit-Muslim unity, he said the party will spread this message to other states and will now focus on Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and other states.
Even though the party had been talking inclusive politics – and in the Maharashtra election it fielded at least four Hindu candidates also while BJP fielded no Muslim candidate – its image, for reasons, has been as a communal political party. It is here that some may raise questions or apprehensions about the rise of MIM in the national political landscape.
MIM’s splendid performance in Maharashtra is a clear proof that at least Muslims have rejected fake secular parties wherever they got good strong alternative. Owaisi brothers strongly targeted so-called secular parties as well as Hindu right wing parties like BJP and Shiv Sena in their election rallies in the state. This resulted in huge defeat of Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and also Samajwadi Party. However, some may see MIM’s victory as a disturbing trend of majority communalism giving birth to minority communalism. This is because of some highly communal and controversial speeches in the past of MIM leader and Member of Telangana Assembly Akbaruddin Owaisi.
“The emergence of MIM is a disturbing development. I see it as majority communalism leading to minority communalism, which is not good for a plural, secular country like India,” says civil rights activist Er. Rashid Hussain.
Besides, MIM, some other Muslim parties like Muslim League and Welfare Party of India had also fielded candidates in Maharashtra but all forfeited their deposits as they could not get more than a few hundred votes.
To make the apprehensions wrong, party chief Asaduddin Owaisi will have to work hard to improve the image of his party and make it more inclusive, democratic and secular.
Performance of MIM in Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2014
Seat
Candidate
Votes
Position
Ahead of parties
Aurangabad Central
Sayed Imtiaz Jalil
61843
1st
Shiv Sena, Congress, NCP, BJP
Byculla
Advocate Waris Yusuf Pathan
25314
1st
BJP, Congress, MNS
Parbhani
Syad Khalad Syad Sahebjan
45058
2nd
BJP, NCP, Congress
Solapur City Central
Shekh Taufik Is Mail
37138
2nd
BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP
Aurangabad East
Dr. Abdul Gaffar Quadri
60268
2nd
Shiv Sena, Congress, NCP
Nanded South
Moin Akhtar
34590
3rd
NCP, Congress
Aurangabad West (SC)
Gangadhar Gade supporeted by MIM
35348
3rd
Congress, NCP
Versova
Abdul Hamid Shaikh
20127
3rd
MNS, NCP
Malegaon Central
A. Malik Mo. Yunus
21050
3rd
Shiv Sena, JDS
Mumbra-Kalwa
Asharaf Mulani
16374
3rd
BJP, Congress, MNS
Nanded North
Abdul Habeeb Abdul Rahim
32333
3rd
Shiv Sena, NCP
Mumbadevi
Mohd Shahed Rafi (son of famour singer late Mohd Rafi)
16165
3rd
Shiv Sena, MNS, NCP
Kurla (SC)
Avinash Gopichand Barve
25741
3rd
NCP, Congress, MNS
Solapur City North
Vishnupant L. Gavade
12358
4th
Shiv Sena, MNS, BSP
Bhivandi East
Khan Md. Akram Abdul Hannam
14577
4th
Congress, NCP
Andheri West
M. A. Hussain
3821
5th
NCP, CPIM
Mankhurd Shivajinagar
Altaf Kazi
4505
5th
MNS
Solapur South
Arjun(Dada) Salgar
12185
5th
BSP, MNS
Akkalkot
Subhash Anandrao Shinde
1642
5th
Shiv Sena, NCP
Bhivandi West
Sheikh Jaki Abdul Rashid
4686
5th
BSP
Sion Kuliwada
Mohammad Raza Shaikh
5896
6th
MNS, BSP
Dindoshi
Hussain Ismail Taj
1637
6th
BSP, SP
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