After Maharashtra, MIM now focus on UP, WB, Karnagtaka

After winning two seats in recent Maharashtra assembly elections, first time outside Hyderabad city, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is now focusing its attention to expand aggressively in other states too. Its president Asaduddin Owaisi today announced that his party would contest Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka. However, the party is yet to decided on its participation in Delhi and Jharkhand Assembly electionsSpeaking in the Meet-The-Press programme organised by the Telangana State Union of Working Journalist (TUWJ) stressed the need for increase in political representation of Muslim community in the elected bodies across the country. He said that the community's development depends on its representation in the law making bodies.

However, he said that the representation has to be real. "The benami leadership of Muslims will not help the community in any way," he said while referring to Muzaffarnagar riots which occurred despite Uttar Pradesh having more than 60 Muslim MLAs.The MIM President also described the term Muslim vote bank as a myth and said that same myth got shattered in the recently held parliamentary elections in the country. 'There has not been the Muslim vote bank rather a Majority vote bank in India from the first elections in the year 1956,' he said.

Stating that the slogan of "Jai Bheem, Jai Meem" would have a long-term impact, he said that the MIM would hard to unite Dalits and Muslims to ensure the political empowerment of both the communities. The MIM president reiterated that his party was against the Haj subsidy and instead asked the Centre to release the subsidy amount for the education and employment of Muslim girls.