MIM to rework strategy after UP election results: Owaisi

Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e- Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi said his party would rework its strategy and return to fight elections in Uttar Pradesh. “A lot of hard work was done for the UP elections by our party, but the result was not as per our expectations. We respect the decision of the people of UP. Nevertheless, we will continue to be on the ground and again contest the elections with more energy. We are confident that the AIMIM will see a better future in UP,” he told the media here on Thursday.

The AIMIM contested from 97 seats in UP but could not win anywhere. The party was in alliance with Babu Singh Kushwaha’s Jan Adhikar Party and Bharat Mukti Morcha. He stated that a few political parties were crying foul over EVM tampering. “It is not about EVM tampering. It is all about a chip incorporated in the minds of the people,” he said, referring to polarization of votes on certain grounds.

He elaborated that among other objectives of the AIMIM, one was to create a political leadership in the country. In UP, minorities were being used as a vote bank. “Now they will understand that they were being used as vote banks by certain political parties,” he said. On allegations that the AIMIM indirectly helped the BJP in UP, he said the party was ‘least bothered’ about such accusations and would continue to contest elections in Gujarat and Rajasthan and also the local body elections in UP later this year with full preparedness.

Indirectly referring to the Samajwadi Party, Owaisi said the party should understand that they had failed in all aspects in UP. “Despite making vicious statements against our alliance, it failed to come to power. The outcome of the election is a turning point for the Muslim community in UP, which at a later stage will come to the fore,” he said. The Hyderabad MP also thanked the people of UP who cast their votes for AIMIM candidates.