As Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, the city-based Muslim political party continues its drive to expand its circle of influence beyond Telangana, municipal elections of a city far away was being closely watched by the party’s followers.
Elections to the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation, slated for Wednesday, were being seen here as an opportunity for the MIM to further consolidates itself in Maharashtra politics.
After a dramatic debut in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections, when the party won two Assembly seats and came second in two other places, the MIM has now gone all out to capture the municipal corporation of the third biggest city of Maharashtra.
Aurangabad is the political nerve centre of Marhatwada region, which was the part of the Hyderabad State of Nizams till 1956. Knowing the symbolic significance of this city with more than 30 per cent Muslim population, MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi and his younger brother firebrand speaker Akbaruddin Owaisi ran an aggressive campaign over the last few weeks. Braving the scorching sun, they spent days on the streets conducting a door-to-door campaign and establishing a direct contact with the electorate.
Having won one Assembly seat in Aurangabad, and the massive response the campaign of its leaders evoked especially from the Muslims and the Dalits, MIM managed to create a scare in its major opponents the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress. In fact the BJP and the Shiv Sena were initially not inclined to fight this elections together but the fear of MIM forced them bury the hatchet.
In a reflection of growing popularity of the MIM in the minority community, there was a mad scramble for its tickets and at some places the aspirants who had come from Congress and NCP resorted to violence and threats against each other. It presented a challenge before the MIM leadership and created a lot of heart burns and the disappointed aspirants entered the fray as rebel or on the tickets of other parties.
Of the total 113 wards, the MIM was contesting on 60 wards in alliance with smaller Dalit parties and was confident of making an impressive debut by winning a sizeable number of seats.
Focusing his entire campaign on the local issues — including the pathetic condition of roads and other civic infrastructure and negligence of the city shown by the Shiv Sena ruled civic body till now, Owaisi has promised to develop the city. To bring Dalits closer to his party, he also promised to make a Dalit the deputy Mayor of the city.
Akbaruddin Owaisi, who addressed a public meeting on Aam Khaas Maidan also created a stir with his sharp attack on the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance on one hand and the Congress and the NCP on the other.
Aurangabad has this time seen the campaigning at never before scale as the Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thakrey and Chief Minister Fadnavis along with many big shots of their parties participating in electioneering. The main plank of their campaign was fulfilling the old promise of renaming Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar.
Aurangabad, a historic city was named after the Mogul emperor Aurangzeb, who is buried in a mosque courtyard in the city.
More than the Shiv Sena and the BJP, it is the Congress and NCP who were feeling under threat by the expanding sphere of the MIM as Muslims have deserted both the parties in droves. The desertion which started at the time of Assembly elections only further intensified in the run up to the civil polls.