On January 7, Maharashtra AIMIM president Imtiaz Jaleel was manhandled by disgruntled occasion supporters. Campaigning at Baijpura in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar This was as a result of anger erupted inside the occasion over the distribution of tickets for native authorities elections.
Every week earlier, on December 28, Mumbai Municipal Get together chief Farooq Shabdi had resigned in an emotional message through which he talked about leaving his beloved occasion and hinted at friction with the state management.
Taken collectively, these episodes expose deep turmoil inside the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, which, regardless of its restricted attain, has garnered extraordinary consideration within the political discourse of Maharashtra.
Nevertheless, after a number of days, the ambiance modified quickly. On Friday, because the outcomes of the referendum had been introduced and AIMIM made a stunning turnaround, Jaleel stood in entrance of cheering supporters and confirmed his confidence by flexing and clapping his arms like a conventional wrestler. The occasion has gained 126 seats in 13 companies throughout Maharashtra, virtually 3 times as many as Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Get together (SP) and solely 30 fewer than Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), giving it the strongest civic efficiency within the state thus far.
Company efficiency
AIMIM emerged as one of many largest vote-getters within the native physique elections in Maharashtra, doubling its energy to 126 companies and increasing its presence throughout 13 city native our bodies.
The occasion’s strongest efficiency was seen in Sambhajinagar, the place it gained 33 seats among the many 115-member civic physique, its finest efficiency thus far. Town, previously often called Aurangabad, has lengthy been the epicenter of AIMIM’s rise within the state and can also be dwelling to state occasion president Jaleel, who has represented AIMIM each as an MP and MLA.
Other than Sambhajinagar, AIMIM gained 21 seats in Malegaon, 14 in Nanded, 13 in Amravati, 10 in Dhule, eight in Solapur, six in Nagpur, 5 in Thane, three in Akola, two every in Ahilyanagar and Jalna, and one in Chandrapur.
In Mumbai, the occasion recorded a big improve from two seats in 2017 to eight this yr. Most of those victories got here from the Cheetah camp space of Govandi and the adjoining jap suburbs. Positioned close to the Deonar dumpsite, this zone is likely one of the most densely populated, predominantly Muslim and economically marginalized areas of town. Right here, AIMIM had an enormous lead over the Uttar Pradesh-based Samajwadi Get together (SP), successful 5 seats that had beforehand been the SP’s stronghold. Seven of the eight members of the Mumbai company are Muslims and one Dalit.
AIMIM base
The efficiency of native companies highlights the regular, albeit geographically restricted, progress of AIMIM in Maharashtra, although the occasion lacks a powerful cadre construction and faces frequent defections.
Based on the 2011 census, the occasion’s important assist base stays Muslims, who make up 11.54% of Maharashtra’s inhabitants. Muslims make up over 20% of the inhabitants in Mumbai and over 75% in Malegaon, each of that are facilities of AIMIM enlargement.
AIMIM faucets into a way of political underrepresentation amongst some Muslim voters, significantly younger folks, who really feel that mainstream events are failing to boost points that have an effect on their communities or communicate out forcefully on points that they understand to be unfair. That is additionally mirrored within the occasion’s company profile, the place the vast majority of elected representatives are below 40 years of age.
“In India’s present political and social local weather, there may be huge nervousness amongst Muslim youth in regards to the incapacity of political leaders to talk out in assist of minority communities. The truth that Asaduddin Owaisi is talking out on these points in a approach that even the opposite facet can not dispute places him in a particular scenario in entrance of the youth of the group, which works in his favor,” stated Waseem Furqan, an AIMIM supporter in Govandi.
Sajid Shaikh, an AIMIM activist from Malegaon, stated, “For us, AIMIM represents a selection between the communal rhetoric of the Bharatiya Janata Get together in opposition to Muslims and a weak Congress that desires our votes however is afraid to talk out on points that have an effect on our group.”
Aimim’s progress
Maharashtra has lengthy supplied house for AIMIM to broaden past its dwelling base in Hyderabad. The occasion’s earliest and most pure entry level was Marathwada, a area with historic and cultural ties to Telangana. Districts comparable to Jalna, Hingoli, Parbhani, Osmanabad, Beed, Aurangabad, Nanded and Latur had been as soon as a part of the Nizam’s management and proceed to share social and political ties with Hyderabad. For a lot of cities in Marathwada, Hyderabad is geographically and culturally nearer to Mumbai.
This proximity has enabled AIMIM to stay energetic in native physique elections in Marathwada for the reason that Nineties. However the occasion has struggled for years to translate its presence into electoral success. Issues modified in 2012 when AIMIM gained 11 seats within the Nanded Wagalla municipal elections.
The occasion’s breakthrough got here in 2014, when it gained two seats in Maharashtra and one every in Mumbai and Marathwada. In Aurangabad on the time, AIMIM emerged as the principle opposition to the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance within the native authorities, successful 25 seats and pushing the Congress after which the undivided NCP to the margins.
AIMIM then joined forces with Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and the partnership culminated in Imtiaz Jaleel successful the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat in 2019. However a number of months later, the occasion suffered a setback within the meeting elections, dropping seats in Mumbai and Aurangabad Central however retaining Malegaon Central and recording a stunning victory. Doulet. For the 2024 meeting elections, AIMIM was lowered to Malegaon Central solely.
Inner pressure has grow to be extra distinguished lately. Asaduddin Owaisi stays the occasion’s tallest chief throughout the nation and Jaleel is the face of Maharashtra, however the group has skilled frequent defections and factional tensions.
Critics say that whereas the occasion is strongly against the BJP, its presence in multi-pronged elections usually polarizes opposition votes and not directly advantages the ruling occasion. This concern got here to the fore sharply through the 2024 elections, when distinguished cleric Maulana Shaikh Khalil-ur-Rahman Sajjad Nomani introduced a listing of really helpful candidates, primarily from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), excluding all however two candidates from AIMIM.
Nazim Shaikh, an AIMIM activist from Malegaon, stated, “This can be a occasion that operates purely on the non-public charisma of Asaduddin Owaisi. In contrast to different events, it’s not a cadre-based occasion, not less than in Maharashtra. This assist will proceed till politically acutely aware Muslim youth see it as a celebration that’s not afraid to talk out on points.”
However for the AIMIM management, the civic physique outcomes are a validation of the occasion’s political standing in Maharashtra. Leaders declare that the notion of ideological solidity in opposition to the Bharatiya Janata Get together helps the occasion preserve credibility amongst its core voters.
“Trying on the phrases and actions of Congress and NCP leaders, there’s a public notion that they might defect and be a part of the BJP at any time. AIMIM, alternatively, is seen as a celebration that can by no means align with the BJP. Its credibility has helped it win seven seats even in cities like Nagpur,” Jaleel stated.
