AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi speaks at a press conference in Hyderabad yesterday.

IANS/Hyderabad

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen yesterday said it would contest the Bihar assembly elections as it takes another step for a pan India presence.
Party president Asaduddin Owaisi, however, announced that it would contest only from Seemanchal region of the state.
He told reporters that the AIMIM would soon announce the number of seats it would contest.
Seemanchal region in Bihar comprising four districts accounts for 24 seats in the 243-member assembly.
He also announced that Akhtarul Iman will be the president of the Bihar unit of AIMIM. Iman, a three-time legislator of Bihar, quit the ruling Janata Dal (United) last year.
The Hyderabad MP said the backwardness of Seemanchal would be the main poll issue for his party. “We will demand a regional development board under Article 371 of the constitution for the overall development of Seemanchal,” he said, and blamed the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal RJD and JD (U) for the region’s backwardness.
Owaisi, who addressed a public meeting in Seemanchal last month, made it clear that AIMIM would contest the elections on its own. He, however, did not rule out post-poll alliances.
“We are realistic about our chances. We know our strengths and weaknesses,” said Owaisi when asked why his party chose to contest in only one region.
The Muslim leader said the party would carry Dalits and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). These sections make up 70 to 75% of Seemanchal’s population.
“Why do you limit us to Muslims? You have Dalits, OBCs and various people. We are talking about development of Seemanchal which includes every section of society,” he said.
For the rest of Bihar, Owaisi appealed to the people to defeat communal forces. “There are communists and others. There are many options before people,” he said when asked if he was urging people to vote for the grand alliance of the JDU, RJD and Congress.
He termed as baseless the argument that AIMIM’s presence will divide the secular votes. “You are not the only flag bearers of secularism. We are not coolies of secularism. We also have the capacity and credibility to take on communal forces,” he said.
“Did MIM contest the elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir? How did the BJP win? Today, ABVP swept Delhi University elections. Was our youth wing contesting there,” he asked.