MIM helped BJP-Shiv Sena win Maharashtra polls: Congress
Freedom Press Bureau
Hyderabad, Oct 25: Former minister and ex-Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir said that the Congress party has made an impressive comeback in the just-concluded Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana States. Similarly, the Congress party has performed well in the bye-elections for Assembly seats in 17 States, he said.
Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan on Friday, Shabbir Ali congratulated Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on his party winning two seats in Maharashtra and one seat in Bihar.
Further, he congratulated Owaisi for helping BJP-Shiv Sena retain power in Maharashtra. Furnishing statistics, he said the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance would not have got a majority in Maharashtra without MIM’s help. He said MIM had contested on 44 Seats in Maharashtra and won from Dhule and Malegaon Central. It also stood runner-up in 4 other seats.
However, he said MIM helped BJP-Shiv Sena win 21 seats by dividing secular votes. “While 7 seats were lost due to direct division of votes, the remaining 11 were lost due to polarisation. Four-time Congress MLA Arif Naseem Khan from Chandivali lost the election by just 409 votes due to MIM which got 1167 votes,” he said.
The Congress leader said MIM never contested on 40 seats in Telangana. But it fielded 44 candidates in Maharashtra only to help the BJP-Shiv Sena combine by dividing secular votes. He said despite MIM’s serious attempts, Congress and NCP managed to win 19 other seats.
He appealed to the voters to reject MIM if they really dislike communalism. He said MIM was not only dividing secular votes, but also helping BJP and its allies polarise voters. He said Owaisi was acting as a tool into the hands of Sangh Parivar and MIM has proved to be a B-team of BJP.
Shabbir Ali said small parties like MIM could only win one or two seats in any State, but they could not form the government on their own. However, by fielding candidates in selective constituencies, they are helping the BJP disrupt the winning chances of other secular parties. “Today BJP is encouraging communalism and hatred due to its governments at the Centre and States. Communal forces can be stopped only if there is a secular government,” he said.
He said that the MIM was misleading the Muslim community by boasting about its victory on two seats in Maharashtra and one seat in Bihar. “As on today Congress party has highest number of Muslim MLAs in the country.
Shabbir Ali said BJP Governments were targeting minorities across the country and MIM was helping BJP form governments. “Owaisi brothers are acting like ‘Vote Katwas’ and they are polarising the voters on communal lines. People should realise the danger parties like MIM pose to the society,” he said.
