GG News Bureau
Patna, 6th Oct: Just hours before the Election Commission is set to announce the schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections, AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi stirred the political landscape with a sharp remark, claiming that while every community in Bihar has a leader, the state’s Muslim population remains leaderless.
“Yadav, Paswan, Thakur — every community has its own leader, but the 19 per cent Muslims in Bihar have no leader,” Owaisi said, addressing a gathering aimed at reaching out to the minority community in the poll-bound state.
According to the 2022 Bihar caste survey, Muslims constitute 17.7 per cent of the state’s 13 crore population. Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) made notable inroads during the 2020 Bihar polls, winning five seats in the Seemanchal region. However, four of those MLAs later switched sides to join the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Owaisi, who recently campaigned across Bihar, said he was open to joining the Opposition alliance led by the RJD and Congress, but received no response. The Mahagathbandhan, meanwhile, has categorically ruled out any tie-up with AIMIM, viewing it as a potential threat to its core Muslim-Yadav (MY) vote base.
In his latest outreach to Bihar’s Muslims, Owaisi questioned the lack of political representation for the community at the national level. “India should have at least 50 Muslim MPs based on population. If there were more than 50 Muslim MPs, could PM Modi have brought the Waqf (Amendment) Act?” he asked.
Taking a direct swipe at RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Owaisi accused him of “buying four AIMIM MLAs” after the 2020 elections. “Our state president Akhtarul Iman, whom Tejashwi could not poach, told me that community members were upset I was not interested in an alliance. I said do as they please,” Owaisi stated.
He added that Iman had written letters to both RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, expressing AIMIM’s willingness to join hands with the Opposition bloc. “We made it clear that AIMIM wanted no ministerial berth if the Mahagathbandhan came to power. We only sought six seats — since we had already won five — and a written assurance for setting up a Seemanchal Development Council. But they were not interested,” Owaisi said.
Owaisi’s remarks, coming at a politically sensitive juncture, have reignited debates on minority representation and vote bank politics in Bihar, setting the stage for a charged electoral battle ahead.
