Are the Owaisi brothers succeeding where Mayawati has failed? The success of the Hyderabad-based Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen in the municipal elections in Maharashtra ought to be taken seriously by all mainstream parties. For, the Owaisi brothers’ agenda does not evoke confidence. The MIM strategic appeal to the Muslims and Dalits cannot be allowed to go unchecked. Spreading disaffection and alienation among a key segment of the people, who, no doubt, have been denied socio-economic benefits commensurate to their numbers in the total population, is the deadly gambit the hate-filled, fire-eating brothers have used to expand their reach outside the confines of the old city of Hyderabad. Their grand success in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation, where they denied the Sena-BJP combine a clear majority, winning 25 of the 54 seats it contested out of a total of 113, should be an eye-opener. The fact that the Dalits had responded to the MIM call while spurning the appeal of the rival Republican parties underlines the failure of successive governments to address their socio-economic concerns. The BJP-Sena Government must ensure equitable distribution of the development cake for all groups, including Dalits and Muslims, so that disaffected communities are not tempted to embrace unwholesome agendas.
