Top

MIM eyes 1 more seat in Mumbai

The segment has around 80,000 Muslims and about 50,000 Dalits

Hyderabad: The entire party machinery of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has presently been camped at the Bandra East constituency in Mumbai to bag the seat in the ensuing bypolls.

The party has given the ticket to Rahbar Khan, who was defeated in the 2014 elections. Sources in the party revealed that the party again offered the ticket to Mr Khan, a local businessman, on the ground that he had secured 23,976 votes in the 2014 Assembly elections and stood third after Shiv Sena and BJP.

The party believes that Mr Khan has the sympathy of voters of the constituency, particularly Muslims and Dalits.

The segment has around 80,000 Muslims and about 50,000 Dalits.

Mr Asaduddin Owaisi and Mr Akbaruddin Owaisi, the star campaigners of the party, are camped in Bandra along with seven MLAs and several former corporators of Hyderabad and two party MLAs from Maharashtra.

During campaigning, the Owaisi brothers are mainly concentrating on highlighting the Sena-BJP’s “anti-minority” moves and are also targeting the Congress-NCP, reminding voters of their 15-year “misrule” in Maharashtra.

They are hoping that the decision of the BJP-Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government of scrapping reservations to Muslims will definitely prove to be a plus point in the bypolls.

“This time our party will give a tough fight to Shiv Sena and BJP in the by-polls. Our poll campaign has been receiving overwhelming response from voters of the constituency,” said MIM leaders.

The Election Commission had announced the bypoll after the death of sitting Siva Sena MLA Bala Sawant. Shiv Sena has fielded Trupti Sawant, the former MLA’s wife. Polling will be held on April 11.

The Congress has announced former Maharashtra CM Narayan Rane as its candidate and the NCP has decided to extend support to Mr Rane.

Meanwhile, Mr Akbaruddin Owaisi on Friday inaugurated the MIM Maharashtra unit head office at Nagpada in Mumbai.

( Source : deccan chronicle )
Next Story