Mumbai: Despite running a relatively low-key campaign, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has emerged as a significant player in Maharashtra’s municipal elections, winning 125 seats across 13 municipal corporations out of the 29 that went to polls on Thursday.
The results have surprised political observers and unsettled established parties in the state. Following the strong performance, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi directed party representatives in Maharashtra to refrain from taking any policy decisions without approval from the central leadership. The instruction gains importance in light of the recent controversy involving the Akot Municipal Council in Akola district. Owaisi also made it clear that the AIMIM would not align with the BJP in any municipal corporation.
Highlighting the party’s expanding social base, Owaisi said AIMIM’s elected representatives include not only Muslims but also Hindus, Dalits and members of other communities. The party registered notable gains in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation, where it won 33 of 115 seats. In Mumbai, AIMIM improved its tally from two seats in 2017 to eight, dealing a blow to the Samajwadi Party in its traditional Mankhurd-Shivajinagar stronghold.
AIMIM also performed strongly in Malegaon, Nanded, Amravati and Dhule. Political analysts say its growing presence consolidated Muslim votes, adversely affecting the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), while indirectly benefiting the BJP through Hindu vote consolidation. The party’s resurgence is particularly noteworthy given its earlier alliance with the Prakash Ambedkar-led BVA.
That alliance had impacted the Congress in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. In the 2019 elections, the combination was widely blamed for indirectly aiding the BJP by eroding the vote base of the Congress and the NCP. This time, its performance has adversely affected the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the NCP (SP).
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