RJD Mulls Alliance With AIMIM To Join INDIA In Bihar

NEW DELHI/ HYDERABAD: After overcoming initial hiccups, the RJD is now actively reconsidering a proposal of the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM to join the "Mahagathbandhan" (Grand Alliance) to keep Muslim votes intact in a bid to boost the Opposition bloc's prospects in the upcoming Assembly elections in Bihar. Though the BJP asserts Mr Owaisi is not a factor and the AIMIM alliance with Mahagathbandhan will not dent the NDA's chances, the saffron party is keeping a close watch.

According to RJD insiders, the final call allowing the AIMIM to join the Mahagathbandhan will be taken by party supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav. Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav has already discussed the pros and cons of the AIMIM joining the alliance with the RJD's poll strategists and is likely to take a call on the issue soon.

In the 2020 Assembly polls, the AIMIM contested 20 seats and won five seats in the Bihar elections. The Hyderabad party polled 5,23,279 votes. However, after a few months, as many as four MLAs of the party rebelled and joined the RJD.

AIMIM Bihar president Akhtarul Iman confirmed that the party has approached both the RJD and the Congress to contest the upcoming polls together to stop the split in secular votes.

“Despite the fact that RJD backstabbed us by merging our MLAs into its fold, we have approached them to prevent division of the secular votes in the upcoming Assembly elections. Now the RJD has to take a call. If they really believe in the ethos of the Indian Constitution and secular ideology, they should respond to our proposal,” Mr Iman said, adding the AIMIM’s proposal is neither rejected nor accepted.

Confirming the overture, Mr Owaisi said that the party’s Bihar unit chief made a proposal to join the Opposition Mahagathbandhan led by the RJD to contest coming Assembly elections in Bihar.

Speaking to this newspaper, Mr Owaisi said it is up to the Opposition alliance leaders to decide whether or not to face the BJP-led NDA collectively. He added that the AIMIM is prepared to contest independently if it fails to get a positive response from the Mahagathbandhan.

On Saturday, Mr Owaisi specifically announced that his party will field non-Muslims too in the Bihar Assembly elections. He also criticised secular parties who were accusing the AIMIM of being a "vote khatva party".

The RJD insiders said that the party leadership received a proposal from the AIMIM and the final call on this may be taken in a day or two. “The AIMIM has expressed its intent to join the Mahagathbandhan. The party leadership is looking into it and the final call will be taken by Lalu Prasad Yadav,” the RJD leader said.

To ensure victory for the RJD-led Opposition alliance, former chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is ready to join hands with like-minded smaller parties to stop the split of secular votes.

The BJP, meanwhile, called the proposed formation of a new alliance an internal matter of the Opposition parties. BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash told this newspaper that whether AIMIM will be part of the Opposition alliance or not is their internal issue. It will not stop the ruling NDA alliance from forming the next government in Bihar after the Assembly polls.

“Opportunists are joining hands with a common agenda of appeasement for power. While the NDA government is working for the people and people will reelect us,” Mr Prakash said.

The five seats the AIMIM won in the last Assembly polls held in 2020 were in the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region, consisting of Araria, Purnea, Katihar and Kishanganj.

Political observers argue that the AIMIM performed well in Muslim-dominated constituencies in the last assembly polls by cutting into the traditional votebank of the RJD and the Congress, thus benefiting the BJP and its NDA ally JD(U).

During his recent visit to Bihar's Kishanganj, Mr Owaisi had said that his party was ready to contest at least 100 seats and would target winning at least 24 of them.

Mr Owaisi’s statement served as a firm message to Mr Yadav of the AIMIM's calibre to cause damage.

The political pundits in Bihar do not reject outrightly the growing influence of the AIMIM in the Seemanchal region. If the AIMIM contests alone, this could prove to be a disaster for the RJD in this region.

The AIMIM’s performance in the 2020 polls was, perhaps, one of the vital reasons why the RJD fell short of forming a government in the state. The AIMIM caused severe damage to the Mahagathbandhan, especially in the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region.