Will Asaduddin Owaisi Divide Votes or Decide Results in Bengal and Assam? How Big Would Be Impact ?

Will Asaduddin Owaisi Divide Votes or Decide Results in Bengal and Assam? How Big Would Be Impact ?

New Delhi, Apr 2: Asaduddin Owaisi has further expanded the party’s reach in the eastern part of the country, entering the state of West Bengal and Assam after the party’s impressive win in the Bihar assembly polls.

In West Bengal, the party has joined hands with the Aam Janata Unnayan Party, led by former Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir. The party will be contesting a large number of seats in the state, especially in the north Bengal districts where the minorities form a significant voting population.

In Assam, the party has chosen to support the All India United Democratic Front party, led by Badruddin Ajmal. Asaduddin Owaisi has been campaigning in the state to boost the party’s prospects.

Owaisi’s growing political footprint is seen against the background of his rising national profile. His stance on key national issues has brought him into the spotlight, thereby helping the AIMIM look beyond its traditional support base in Hyderabad.

Opposition parties, led by the Congress, have often accused the AIMIM of dividing the votes, thereby indirectly helping the BJP. However, Owaisi has repeatedly dismissed the charge by asserting his party’s right to fight elections anywhere in the country.

Owaisi cited the recent Rajya Sabha elections held in Bihar, where the AIMIM MLAs voted in support of the opposition Mahagathbandhan candidate, as an example.

The entry of the AIMIM in West Bengal, alongside Kabir’s party, is expected to introduce a new dimension into the already polarized elections. Political analysts have opined that any division of minority votes could have an impact on the results in the closely contested elections.

Assam’s political scene has undergone a change since the Assembly elections held in 2021, in which the AIUDF was part of an alliance with the Congress. However, the two parties have since fallen apart, with the Congress leaders in Assam ruling out any possibility of an alliance.

Ajmal’s party had won 16 seats in the 2021 elections; however, the party faced a setback in the recent Lok Sabha elections in 2024, where it was defeated by a wide margin. The recent alliance with the AIMIM is being seen as an attempt to recover the lost ground, with the support of Owaisi’s popularity.

With elections in both the states around the corner, the strategy adopted by the AIMIM is seen as an attempt to expand its reach.