To prevent this fragmentation, and under pressure from the ECI’s Special Intensive Revision, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi formally wrote to the RJD requesting inclusion in the Mahagathbandhan.
NEW DELHI: The Opposition is up in arms over the Election Commission’s move to revise Bihar’s electoral rolls, but a deeper threat looms: the potential split of secular votes among the many non-BJP parties.
To prevent this fragmentation, and under pressure from the ECI’s Special Intensive Revision, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi formally wrote to the RJD requesting inclusion in the Mahagathbandhan. Meanwhile, the Bihar field remains crowded, with AAP, AIMIM, BSP, and others poised to contest independently.
Bihar AIMIM chief Akhtarul Iman told this newspaper, “We are still awaiting the RJD’s response on joining the alliance so that secular votes aren’t split and inadvertently help the BJP.” He added that if the RJD refuses, the AIMIM will form a third front with like-minded parties or candidates.
Although the RJD has not rejected the proposal, it has remained noncommittal. Insider sources say the party is considering AIMIM’s offer to preserve Muslim votes, but final approval rests with supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav. Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav has already weighed the pros and cons of including AIMIM in the Mahagathbandhan.
Owaisi has indicated that his party will contest beyond the Seemanchal region—targeting at least 100 seats and aiming to win 25. In the 2020 Assembly polls, AIMIM contested 20 seats and won five in Muslim-dominated Seemanchal constituencies (Araria, Purnea, Katihar, and Kishanganj), before four of its MLAs later defected to the RJD. Observers argue that AIMIM’s performance there cut into the traditional vote banks of the RJD and Congress, inadvertently benefiting the BJP and its NDA ally JD(U).
The Aam Aadmi Party—led by Arvind Kejriwal—could also split secular votes, but it faces the challenge of navigating Bihar’s caste- and region-driven politics. AAP’s strategy appears focused on winning over Bihar migrants in Delhi by highlighting their hardships under the BJP government’s crackdowns on illegal colonies. Kejriwal has announced that AAP will contest Bihar’s polls independently, emphasizing migrant issues in its campaign.
AAP’s past ventures in Bihar have been unfruitful: in 2014 it fielded candidates in 39 of 40 Lok Sabha seats and won none; in 2015 it did not contest but supported the anti-BJP alliance; in 2019 seat-sharing talks with RJD and Congress collapsed; and in 2020 it again abstained despite an early announcement.
