Asaduddin Owaisi tries to fill void in Seemanchal after Mohammed Taslimuddin and Mohammad Asrarul Haque’s deaths

PATNA: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has fielded Akhtarul Iman from Kishanganj in a bid to fill the void created in the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal following the death of RJD’S Mohammed Taslimuddin and Congress’s Mohammad Asrarul Haque.
Kishanganj will vote in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 18.
Taslimuddin, who was a five-term MP from Purnia, Araria and Kishanganj, died in 2017. Asrarul represented Kishanganj Lok Sabha seat in 2009 and 2014 before his death last year. “Owaisi is making all out efforts to emerge as an influential Muslim leader in Seemanchal, who can match the stature of Taslimuddin and Asrarul,” a senior Congress leader said, preferring anonymity.
Though Owaisi’s AIMIM is contesting from Kishanganj seat only in Bihar, his party had fought for six seats in the 2015 Bihar assembly elections. “It’s altogether a different matter that Owaisi’s party couldn’t win any of the six seats it had contested, but it upset the election results as most of the seats were won by the Mahagathbandhan in the region. In 2015, JD(U) and RJD were part of the Mahagathbandhan,” said Mohammad Kudus (55), a confidante of Owaisi.
Akhtarul had won the Kochadhaman assembly seat in 2005 and 2010 on a RJD ticket. “Iman, whom locals call ‘Owaisi of Bihar’, is a good orator and enjoys good support among the Suryapuri Muslims, who constitute a major chunk of Muslim population in Kishanganj,” Md Shakeel (42) of Kishanganj town said.
AIMIM is trying to woo the Suryapuri Muslim voters in Kishanganj. Though Kulaiya Muslims are also there, their presence hardly matters in elections. Taslimuddin belonged to Kulaiya section among the Muslims.
Kishanganj is an important seat in the scheme of things for Owaisi can be understood from the fact that the firebrand Hyderabad MP addressed election meetings at Pothia, Thakurganj and Bahadurganj in the constituency on Saturday. The three regions have sizeable number of Muslim population.
Seemanchal comprising four Lok Sabha constituencies of Purnia, Araria, Katihar and Kishanganj has a very high Muslim concentration. The region is also close to Bengal’s north and south Dinajpur, Malda and Murshidabad. “Owaisi has adopted the same policy in Bihar as in Hyderabad from where he has been elected to the Lok Sabha thrice,” Kudus said.
AIMIM is trying to make backwardness of Seemanchal an election issue. Owaisi tells the electorates that the region remained backward despite the fact that many high profile outsiders like noted journalist MJ Akbar, diplomat-turned-politician Syed Shahabuddin and BJP’s Shahnawaz Hussain represented Kishanganj in the past. In his election speeches on Saturday, Owaisi said Congress and RJD always exploited the Muslim votes by creating the BJP’s fear. He also took a jibe at Nitish Kumar and said the Bihar CM’s love for Prime Minister Narendra Modi was like that of Laila and Majnu.
Congress has fielded Dr Javed Azad while Mahmood Ashraf is the JD(U) candidate from this seat. Ashraf is said to be playing a sub-sectarian (maslakhi) card. He identifies himself as a Barelvi, who are considered opposed to the Deobandi sect (Barelvis possibly outnumber Deobandi in Kishanganj). Akhtarul is articulate in chaste Urdu. He had unsuccessfully contested the 2014 general election from Kishanganj on a JD(U) ticket. He then joined AIMIM, but lost the 2015 assembly election. His late father was a minister in Bihar. Akhtarul has made it a triangular contest in Kishanganj.