PATNA: Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Tuesday blew the bugle for Bihar assembly elections by announcing to field its candidates in 50 out of total 243 seats.

The AIMIM has one MLA from the Kishanganj assembly constituency from the Seemanchal area of Bihar.

A day before the release of assembly seats in Bihar, national president of AIMIM Asaduddin Owaisi tweeted appealing to the people from the minority community to strengthen the majlis in Bihar.

“I would like to say to the people of Bihar that person voted by you in the names of secularism is now with Modi. That is why my request to strengthen the majlis in Bihar and not get seduced by anyone now”, Owaisi had tweeted.

Releasing the names of 50 assembly seats, former Hyderabad Mayor Majid Hussain and AIMIM’s Bihar chief Akhtarul Eman said that his party has decided to contest elections not to help anyone but ensure the rights of the people from the minority and Dalit communities, who have always been exploited just for electoral gains by other parties.
“Whosoever accusing us of jumping into the electoral fray in Bihar are obviously frightened by our growing popularity”, Akhtarul Eman said.

The AIMIM leaders accused Bihar CM Nitish Kumar of being in a political alliance with the BJP that promotes only hatred and works against the minority. “Nitish Kumar has done nothing for the people of minority and sided with the BJP on the issues of NPA, NRC, and CAA. The people of Seemanchal in Bihar are reeling with flood fury and he has done nothing to help them. The Congress party and others have also cheated the minorities and used them for only electoral gains”, Akhtarul Eman said.

“It is now beyond doubt that the NDA government in Bihar is anti-development and AIMIM will try to overthrow it”, he said, adding unemployment, migrations, crime, mob-lynching, triple talaq, step-motherly treatment to Urdu would be among AIMIM's poll planks.

Eman said that the AIMIM will field its candidates on Kochadhaman, Kishanganj, Bahadurganj, Thakurganj, Kasba, Araria, Narpatganj, Umbrella, Pranpur, Jale, Darbhanga, Sugauli, Bhagalpur, Gaya, Purnia, Dhamdaha, Piro and Manihari Balrampur, Bari, Kadwa. Purnia's Amour, Biasi, Jokihat of Araria, Kewati of Darbhanga and other minority-dominated areas.

The AIMIM will also field its candidate on Mahua assembly seat in Vaishali district where from Lalu Prasad Yadav’s elder son Tej Pratap is the sitting MLA.

Eman said further that other prominent assembly seats selected by AIMIM for contesting assembly elections are Motihari’s Dhaka, Narkatiaganj, Phulwarisharif of Patna (reserved), Siwan's Raghunathpur, Daraundha, Barauli of Gopalganj, Sahebpur of Begusarai, Kahalgaon of Bhagalpur Gaya’s Imamganj, Wazirganj, Aurangabad assembly and Chanpur seat in Kaimur.

He said that the party is fielding candidates in view of the equation between Muslim and Dalit voters. On being asked on the alliance, he said: “The AIMIM is ready to contest elections with any like-minded party or coalition. If we don’t get anyone for the alliance, we are enough to go alone for the rights of minority and Dalit people this year”.

Eman further said that AIMIM’s national chief Asaduddin Owaisi will conduct a series of campaigning through all safe modes of electioneering amid the Corona crisis.