In the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s (AIMIM) national spokesperson Syed Asim Waqar joined the Congress on Wednesday, September 2.
This is being seen as a major blow to the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party, as Waqar is one of its most prominent faces in UP. With the state going to polls next year, political experts believe this could significantly impact Owaisi’s ambition to cement its place in the state.
The decision comes after Waqar was seemingly unhappy with party decisions.
He joined the Grand Old Party in Lucknow in the presence of state president Ajay Rai.
Addressing the media, Waqar said that he felt like the AIMIM wasn’t fighting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but those who were against the BJP.
“People who love the country want to uproot and throw out the BJP’s anti-national government from power, so that a secular and people-centric government can be established in the country. After being in AIMIM, I felt that we talk about fighting against the BJP and its ideology, but on the ground, we end up fighting against Congress, Samajwadi or anyone who is against the BJP. Therefore, I decided that if we are true patriots and want to remove the BJP from power with honesty, then we must join the Congress, which is fighting the BJP with strength,” he said.
Waqar has been associated with AIMIM for nearly a decade. Earlier, he served 20 years with the Samajwadi Party (SP). Interestingly, both SP and the Congress are part of the INDIA bloc alliance.
In the 2022 polls, Congress managed to win only two seats out of the 399 contested. AIMIM contested 95 seats but did not win any. Asaduddin Owaisi had expressed confidence in his party’s performance this time around but has not revealed the number of seats they plan to contest.
