All India majlis-e-Ittehedual Musalmeen is all set to contest all the assembly seats in 2017 UP assembly elections. The party has started the process of identifying the candidates. The party is specifically focussing on the muslim dominated assembly constituencies in East and west UP.
"MIM has started the process of screening the candidates for the 2017 elections. Against our expectations people in large numbers from all sections of society particularly the muslims, dalits and OBCs disillusioned with the policies and conduct of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party are not only joining the party but keen to contest the assembly election as MIM candidate’’,said Shaukat Ali, state president of MIM. He added `` the youth in particular from the dalit and minority community are joining the MIM in large numbers and also keen to contest the next assembly election’’.
"MIM is yet to decide the number of seats out of total 403 seats in UP it seeks to contest, we are meeting the candidates seeking party tickets and soon we will submit our report to the party president Asaduddin Owaisi and the national leadership will take the final decision on the number of seats to be contested’’, said MIM state president.
He said during the recent visit of Asaduddin Owaisi in eastern UP districts of Balrampur, Siddarthnagar Jaunpur he received huge support and he addressed dozens of whistle stop meetings on the highway. He said the youth particularly welcomed him.
MIM leader said `` though our detractors have no stone unturned to malign as sectarian party belonging to a particular religion, the people have known us after we contested the panchyat elections held in December-January last and the by poll in Bikapur assembly seat, so they are now attracted towards the MIM’’. He said `` the objective behind contesting the election is expansion and strengthening the organisational structure of the party across the state, until we contest the assembly and parliament elections in the state it’s difficult to create strong organisation at the grass root level’’.
MIM besides from the ruling Samajwadi party is also facing resistance from the mulsim political outfits like the Peace Party and Rashtriya Ulema council in spreading its wings in UP. MIM however denies challenge from the muslim dominated political outfits of UP. ``These are very small parties with presence in few districts lacking a wider political perspective and more interested in winning couple of by politics of manipulation and leading the gullible voters to the garden path’’, said a MIM leader adding`` in last seven decades after independence no political party specifically claiming to represent the muslims has emerged in UP, MIM is not the party of muslims only and we represent all downtrodden sections of society and MIM will certainly move forward in coming days’’.
The MIM state president said Owaisi is likely to visit UP in June for a weeklong visit. His programme is yet to be finalised. ``Come what may MIM president will visit UP and meet the party cadres. The SP government has done its best in last two years to deny us to exercise our fundamental right to carry out the legitimate political activity but we will continue our campaign’’, said Shaukat Ali.
He said that the SP government is so scared of the MIM that it has denied for over four dozen times to a rally to be addressed by Asaduddin Owaisi in Azamgarh, Agra, lucknow and Allahabad and several districts. He alleged that the SP government has no face to show to the muslims as it has singularly failed to deliver to the muslims and honour the promises it had made to the muslims during the 2012 state assembly elections and 2014 parliament elections.