Asaduddin Owaisi’s party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), has intensified efforts to form a third front ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, sources said.
According to reports, AIMIM has reached out to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Jan Shakti Janata Dal chief Tej Pratap Yadav, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and former Union Minister Devendra Prasad Yadav to explore possibilities of an alliance.
Sources also revealed that the party is in touch with Swami Prasad Maurya, hoping to bring him on board as part of the new political front.
Insiders indicated that the structure of this third front could be announced within the next two to three days. AIMIM is reportedly preparing to contest at least 100 seats in the Bihar elections.
Expanding its reach beyond Seemanchal, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has earlier announced that the party will now contest four seats in Mithilanchal – Jale, Bisfi, Keoti, and Darbhanga town. Speaking at a rally in Kumrauli, Jale constituency, Darbhanga district, Owaisi said the move marks the party’s next phase of electoral outreach in Bihar.
Owaisi recently visited Bihar to campaign for his party ahead of the Assembly polls. Owaisi had earlier expressed openness to joining the Opposition alliance led by the RJD and the Congress, but his proposal reportedly received no positive response. The Opposition bloc has since made it clear that no alliance with AIMIM is on the table.
Addressing Bihar’s Muslim voters, Owaisi urged stronger political representation for the community, stating that India should have at least 50 Muslim MPs in proportion to their population. “If there were more than 50 Muslim MPs, could Prime Minister Narendra Modi have passed the Waqf (Amendment) Act?” he asked, emphasising the need for unity and political assertion among Muslim voters.
In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, AIMIM fielded candidates in 24 constituencies and secured victories in five seats across the Seemanchal belt- including Kishanganj, Purnea, and Araria -regions with a Muslim population exceeding 55%. However, by June 2022, four of the five MLAs had defected to the RJD, leaving Akhtarul Iman, the party’s Bihar unit chief, as AIMIM’s lone representative in the Assembly.
Input By : Shashank Kumar