UP 2022: Asaduddin Owaisi Starts AIMIM's Election Campaign From Ayodhya; Party To Contest In 100 Seats

In view of the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has also sounded its bugle in UP.

AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi reached UP for a three-day visit on Tuesday. After a press conference in Lucknow, Owaisi started his programmes from Ayodhya.

Addressing a public meeting in Ayodhya's Rudauli assembly, Owaisi said his party’s main aim is to defeat the ruling BJP, even though he made scathing attacks at the SP, BSP and Congress as well for the poor plight of Muslims in the state.

AIMIM will fight elections with full force

Asaduddin Owaisi said that the AIMIM has done all booth-level preparations to contest 100 out of the total 403 seats in UP 2022 Assembly Polls. He asserted that the Majlis is now stronger than ever as, in these 5 years since 2017, the message of the Majlis has reached door-to-door.

“The jamhooriyat (democracy) will be strong only when everyone gets their share, and hence, the Muslims must unite under the Majlis”, said Owaisi.

Urged Muslims not to live “in the shadows”

Addressing a rally at Rauslabad village in the Muslim-dominated constituency of Rudauli in Ayodhya district, Owasi said that “19 per cent (of voters) are Muslims and nine percent are Yadavs, but the chief minister will be yours (of the Yadav clan) and we (Muslims) will not even get the job of a peon”. The AIMIM chief reiterated that the Samajwadi Party has been relying on the Muslim-Yadav combination for victory in Uttar Pradesh, but when it comes to sharing power with the Muslims, they are denied their due saying things might turn “communal”.

“The Muslim community believed in the false promises made by the SP, BSP and Congress. Due to the support of the Muslims, their leaders became prime minister and chief minister. Today, the Muslims in UP are feeling cheated as they have been dumped by the parties who sought their vote in the name of secularism,” added the four-time Lok Sabha MP.

“The AAP, SP, BSP did not want anyone from the Muslim community to emerge as a leader. As I am talking of giving participation to Muslims, they are feeling uncomfortable,” he said.

Worried about Afghanistan, but not Rudauli

Owaisi then raised the issue of development of Rudauli and pointed out that the overbridge of Rudauli was not built for 5 years. He said, taking a jibe at CM Adityanath, if you ask Baba about the bridge, he will say come to me only if you want its name to be changed.

The AIMIM chief pointed out that the community center is in bad shape, and pipeline work has not been done. He further alleged that there was no senior secondary school in Rudali, going on to then say that ‘they have the guts to say that Muslims do not want to teach their children’. ‘We want to educate our daughters and make them strong, but the BJP only talks about Afghanistan, and not Rudauli’ said Owaisi.

In UP in 2019-20, the Center gave 116 crores to Baba (CM Adityanath), for work in the minority areas, out of which Baba's government spent only Rs 16 crore, even then they say they believe in “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas”, said the AIMIM chief.

He lashed out at the ruling BJP over the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and said that “people have lost their lives in the COVID-19 pandemic. People have died due to the lack of oxygen. The dead bodies were buried on the banks of the river and were scavenged by the dogs”.

What’s their problem with Faizabad?

When asked why the posters before his visit had ‘Faizabad’ written on them, Owaisi said that only the name of Faizabad district had been changed to Ayodhya. ‘Ayodhya is in India, and so is Faizabad. Why do some people have pain in their stomach with the name of Faizabad? Wasn't the freedom fighter Ashfaqullah hanged in Faizabad jail? Everyone saw what happened on 6th December in this very Ayodhya city, but this community (Muslims) will not be afraid of such people’.

Gangster Atiq Ahmad and wife Shaista joined AIMIM

Jailed gangster and former MP Atiq Ahmad’s wife Shaista Praveen, on Tuesday, joined the AIMIM in the presence of Owaisi in Lucknow. Ahmad also joined AIMIM in absentia. A five-time legislator and one-time MP, Atiq Ahmad has more than 90 criminal cases, including those of murders, abductions, illegal mining, extortion, intimidation and fraud, against him.

Owaisi, however, defended his decision to induct Ahmad, claiming that several BJP leaders are also facing similar charges. “In UP, 37 per cent of BJP MLAs have criminal cases; 116 BJP MPs have serious criminal cases and most of them have cases related to crime against women,” Owaisi said.

He alleged that cases against leaders whose names came in the Muzaffarnagar riots have been withdrawn and said that the ‘leaders like Pragya Thakur and Kuldeep Sengar become popular, but when the names of Mukhtar Ansari and Atiq Ahmed come, they are termed “bahubali” or “gangsters”.

Will AIMIM join hands with the SP-BSP?

"We are ready to discuss a political alliance, but let them talk first. We won't be reaching out to any of these parties for the alliance," Owaisi said answering a query. He said the vast sections of the main minority community in the state have been voting for the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), but these secular parties have only ditched the Muslims in return.

The AIMIM has already joined an alliance of smaller political parties to form Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha; this includes the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) led by Om Prakash Rajbhar, Jan Adhikar Party led by Babu Singh Kushwaha, Rashtriya Uday Party led by Babu Rampal, Rashtriya Upekshit Samaj Party led by Premchanda Prajapati, and Janata Kranti Party led by Anil Singh Chauhan.