AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday met Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui, an influential Muslim cleric of Furfura Sharif positioned in Jangipara space of Hooghly district, fuelling hypothesis of a brand new political understanding forward of the Assembly elections in West Bengal.
Last March, Siddiqui had introduced to launch a political outfit and contest the Assembly elections. However, there was so perceptible headway within the course since then.
After holding talks with Siddiqui, Owaisi advised mediapersons: “We are holding talks with Abbas Siddiqui on whether to contest polls together or on our own. But he (Siddiqui) is elder to us and together we would like to work here.”
Abbas Siddiqui was, nevertheless, not accessible for feedback.
Meanwhile, one other Muslim cleric of Furfura Sharif, Pirzada Toha Siddiqui, stated the Muslim neighborhood will vote in opposition to communalism within the upcoming elections within the state.
“So far, we have voted for development in the state. Be it for the Congress, CPM and the Trinamool Congress. This time we will vote against communalism. We believe in communal harmony and we will vote to protect this harmony,” he advised mediapersons.
Owaisi, then again, skilled his weapons on the Trinamool Congress (TMC) accusing the ruling occasion of permitting the BJP to develop in West Bengal.
After Owaisi had introduced final month that his occasion would contest the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal, the Trinamool had accused it of attempting to divide the minority votes to assist the BJP. The occasion had pointed to the Bihar Assembly outcomes the place AIMIM’s efficiency in east Bihar led to the lack of Mahaghatbandhan, thereby “helping the BJP”.
ExplainedWhy AIMIM is wooing native Muslim clericAsaduddin Owaisi’s assembly with Furfura Sharif cleric Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui is seen as an try by the AIMIM chief to kind a minority-dominated political entrance in West Bengal forward of the Assembly elections. Since this is able to be AIMIM’s electoral debut within the state after its good displaying within the Assembly elections in neighbouring Bihar, the Hyderabad-based outfit with Hindi-speaking Muslims is eager to get the assist of native Bengali-speaking Muslims — Muslims represent 30 per cent of the state’s inhabitants, of which 24 per cent communicate Bengali. However, any success of AIMIM to kind a Muslim-dominated entrance within the polls may show detrimental to the ruling Trinamool Congress, which as per the 2019 Lok Sabha election, has solely a meagre 3 per cent lead over rival BJP.
Rejecting theTrinamool Congress’s cost that it was the “B-team of the BJP”, Owaisi on Sunday stated: “We are a political party. We have come here to establish our presence and contest the Assembly elections… Where was Mamata Banerjee when Gujarat was burning? We did not contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. Then how come the BJP won 18 seats in Bengal? Did she (TMC chief Mamata Banerjee) enter into an understanding with them? We had contested 20 seats in Bihar Assembly elections. Of them, we won in five, the Mahagathbandhan of the Congress and RJD won in nine and the BJP and its allies won in six constituencies. The charge against us that we are the B-team of the BJP is baseless and false,” Owaisi added.
Referring to the latest defection of occasion leaders from the Trinamool Congress, the AIMIM chief stated, “The Trinamool Congress should introspect and find out why it cannot stop the BJP in Bengal.”
“The party should analyse why its members are leaving. We cannot give an answer to all these,” he added.
The Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP stated his occasion would spotlight “underdevelopment of Bengal” in its election marketing campaign and would canvass for “political empowerment of weaker sections”.
“These two will be our party’s two major poll planks,” Owaisi stated.
The Trinamool Congress hit again, labelling the AIMIM as “ nothing but a proxy of the BJP”.
Senior TMC chief and MP Sougata Roy stated: “Owaisi is well aware that Muslims in Bengal are mostly Bengali-speaking and not Urdu-speaking. Therefore they won’t support his party. He is trying to forge ties with Abbas Siddiqui but that won’t yield any result. Muslims in Bengal stand firmly by Mamata Banerjee.”
The BJP, in the meantime, stated they weren’t bothered about Owaisi and his occasion making makes an attempt to carve a political area within the state.
“…We are not concerned about who is coming and going. Our slogan is ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas’. Those who indulge in appeasement of Muslims are feeling threatened. In a democracy, anyone can contest elections,” stated West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh.
