Asaduddin Owaisi starts on his campaign trail for the 2022 UP elections in the Ayodhya district which upset seers.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi launched his party’s campaign for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections from Ayodhya district by addressing a ‘vanchit-shoshit samaj’ (deprived and victimized communities) conference on Tuesday, September 7.
AIMIM state unit president Shaukat Ali stated that the members of the saffron brigade and rival political parties were panicking due to AIMIM’s increasing support base among all communities
The conference that was scheduled at 3 pm at Rudauli tehsil about 57 km from Ayodhya city aggravated the seer community in the city by referring to Ayodhya district as Faizabad in posters circulated on social media. The seers have protested and sought a ban on AIMIM rally, blaming Owaisi of hurting the sentiments of the Hindu community. Faizabad district was renamed Ayodhya in November 2018.
The priest of Hanuman Garhi temple at Ayodhya, Mahanth Raju Das, said the seers will not allow Owaisi to visit Ayodhya.
Owaisi resisting their rejections who is also often accused by the ruling party as well as the opposition parties for “cutting votes” said in a speech in Uttar Pradesh, “Did we field a single candidate from Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections? even then
@BJP4India
How did you win?
क्या हमने 2019 के लोकसभा चुनाव में उत्तर प्रदेश से एक भी उम्मीदवार खड़ा किया था? तो फिर भी @BJP4India कैसे जीत गई? pic.twitter.com/CBDPD7finQ
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) September 9, 2021
In another speech, he said, “Tell @narendramodi
Yes! Are you offering this khiraaz-e-aqeedat to the mujahids of Chauri Chaura? – barrister
@asadowaisi
बताओ @narendramodi जी! क्या आप यही ख़िराज-ए-अक़ीदत पेश कर रहे हैं, चौरी चौरा के मुजाहिदों को? – बैरिस्टर @asadowaisi https://t.co/dVEuXEKOtw
— AIMIM (@aimim_national) September 9, 2021
बाराबंकी, उत्तर प्रदेश में @aimim_national अध्यक्ष @asadowaisi साहब ने शोषित वंचित समाज सम्मेलन को संबोधित किया |#OwaisiInUttarPradesh #AIMIMUttarPardesh pic.twitter.com/GWgl2PzrQk
— Shaukat Ali (@imshaukatali) September 9, 2021
In Barabanki, Owaisi addressed a public meeting in Mohalla Katra on Thursday without permission. They were only permitted to have tea at the house of the young district president, Chaudhary Faiz.
On that meeting, he accused the Modi-Yogi government of persecution of the Muslims and declared that ever since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister in the year 2014, efforts are on to create a Hindu Rashtra. He emphatically blamed the RSS team for actively working on this. He also attacked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for destroying a 100-year-old mosque in the Ramsnehighat tehsil complex. Said that the work of ‘Baba’ was weak in UP, so ‘class’ was taken by calling Delhi.
He also said that after the destruction of the 100-year-old mosque, the people of parties of SP, BSP, and Congress did not even ask the reason for this nor raise a voice on this matter. He revealed that Dharmendra Yadav, brother of SP President Akhilesh Yadav had also gone to attend the wedding of the officer who demolished the mosque.
Highlighting the misdeeds of the other parties, he appealed to the people to vote unitedly in favor of the candidates of his party. Said, if 11 percent Yadav votes can make him the chief minister, then why couldn’t Muslims with 19 percent votes have their own leader. He said that you gave 75 percent votes to SP and BSP. BJP formed the government after getting 50 percent votes.
He also said, “Not only Muslims but other communities, too, have been harassed and exploited by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the center and in Uttar Pradesh. The AIMIM has decided to fight for the rights of the people suppressed by the BJP government by organizing a series of ‘vanchit-shoshit samaj’ conferences across Uttar Pradesh.”
Shaukat Ali said the AIMIM was not only fighting for the rights of the Muslims but of all the communities purportedly victimized under the BJP government.
He claimed that Muslims, Dalits, backward, and even upper caste people in UP were looking for an alternative to the BJP, the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and the Congress since these parties had used them as vote banks. He added that the AIMIM will work for the welfare of all communities if it wins the UP polls.
The AIMIM has announced to field candidates on 100 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. It has also joined an alliance of smaller political parties to form Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha, which includes Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) led by Om Prakash Rajbhar, Jan Adhikar Party led by Babu Singh Kushwaha, Rashtriya Uday Party led by Babu Rampal, Rashtriya Upekshit Samaj Party led by Premchanda Prajapati and Janata Kranti Party led by Anil Singh Chauhan.
The Morcha has invited the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bhim Army to join the pre-poll alliance.
Earlier in July, Owaisi’s visit to Bahraich to pay homage to medieval Ghaznavid general Ghazi Salar Masud alias Ghazi Miya had incited sharp reprisals between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and leaders of Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha constituents.
Owaisi pledged to defeat the BJP and accused parties like the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, and the Congress of “betraying Muslims.”
He also asked if other communities can have their own parties, “Why not Muslims?”.
“This is the reality of India, that only a community which has a leadership is allowed to progress,” Owaisi said.
Owaisi’s visit to UP also happened after the AIMIM’s good performance in the urban local body polls in Karnataka – it won three wards in Hubli-Dharwad and one in Belgavi.