All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen is in the process of identifying suitable Assembly constituencies in Karnataka to field its candidates, party sources said.
There is speculation that the MIM may field 40 candidates, especially in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region.
The presence of the MIM in the fray could come as boon for the BJP since the Muslim outfit could divide the minority votes, much to the discomfiture of the Congress.
Initially there were indications that Janata Dal (Secular) of Deve Gowda may enter into an understanding with the Hyderabad-based party but there was no formal discussion between the two parties. While MIM was formulating
its own strategy, the JD(S) has entered into an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party of Mayawati.
MIM sources said the MIM’s list of candidates will be finalised after the party president and MP Asaduddin Owaisi visits Bengaluru and hold talks with the local leadership. Earlier, MIM’s attempt to enter the Bengaluru Municipal Corporation had failed as its candidates were defeated in the civic elections.
While the Muslim party was successful in making its presence felt in Maharashtra where it won 2 Assembly seats and also emerged as the main Opposition in Aurangabad Municipal Corporation and also won seats in other civic bodies, its attempt to make a base for itself in northern States of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh did not bear fruits.
