In Bihar, major setback for Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM; 4 of 5 party MLAs switch to RJD

Bihar is to witness a big political shakeup with four of the five All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLAs switching sides on Wednesday. The four MLAs-- Muhammed Izhar Asfi (Kochadamam), Shahnawaz Alam (Jokihat), Syed Ruknuddin (Baisi) and Azhar Nayeemi (Bahadurgunj)-- have switched to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Akhtarul Iman (Amour constituency) is the only MLA of the Asaduddin Owaisi-led in the Bihar Assembly now.

In a press briefing, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav confirmed, saying, "As per protocols, we had gone to the Bihar Vidhan Sabha today, and informed of the joining of these MLAs."

Big political shakeup in Bihar 

In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the Hyderabad-based party was a constituent of the Grand Democratic Secular Front, which contested all 243 seats and had projected Upendra Kushwaha as the chief ministerial candidate. The party had contested 20 Assembly seats and had ended up winning 5 of them. In Armour, which falls in the Purnea district, AIMIM state president Akhtarul Iman, Congress strongman and six-time MLA Abdul Jalil Mastan, and BJP-turned-JD(U) leader Saba Zafar were in the fray. Iman won the seat by over 50,000 votes, with Saba Zafar standing second and Abdul Jalil Mastan a distant third.

The AIMIM also won Kochadhaman (Kishanganj district), with its candidate Mohammad Izhar Asfi defeating sitting MLA Master Mujahid Alam of the Janata Dal (United) by over 35,000 votes. In Jokihat (Araria district), Shahnawaz Alam defeated RJD’s Sarfaraz Alam by 7,000 votes. In Bahadurganj (Kishanganj district), AIMIM candidate Mohammad Izhar Nayeemi defeated his nearest rival Lakhan Lal Pandit of the Vikassheel Insan Parishad by 45,000 votes. In Baisi (Purnea District), AIMIM’s Syed Ruknuddin Ahmed defeated BJP’s Vinod Kumar by over 15,000 votes,

The Rashtriya Janata Dal-led opposition Grand Alliance or ‘Mahagathbandhan’, immediately accused the AIMIM of being a “vote-cutter” — an allegation often levelled against Owaisi’s party.