Bihar Election Results: AIMIM Silences Critics, Wins 5 Seats in Seemanchal
AIMIM is set to retain all five seats it had won in 2020.
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In the run-up to the 2025 Bihar Elections, many observers had written off Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). The argument was that defections of MLAs from the AIMIM and Muslim consolidation behind the Mahagathbandhan would reduce the party's strength in the Assembly, from its breakout performance of 5 in 2020.
However, the AIMIM has proven its critics wrong by retaining its seats. At the time of writing this story, the AIMIM had won four out of the five seats it had won in 2020 and was leading in the fifth.
All the five seats are in the Seemanchal region.
In a sixth Seemanchal seat, Balrampur, the contest between the AIMIM and LJP candidates has gone to the wire with both sides claiming victory and a recount reportedly being underway.
Even with 5 seats, AIMIM has more Muslim MLAs than any other party.
AIMIM's vote share has also increased from 1.3 percent in 2020 to almost 2 percent in 2025.
The AIMIM's wins cut across communities within Seemanchal's Muslims as they won from Kulhaiya dominated Jokihat as well as Surjapuri dominated Amour.
AIMIM's Wins
Jokihat: AIMIM's Mohammad Murshid Alam defeated JD-U's Manzar Alam by 29,000 votes. AIMIM's own former MLA Shahnawaz Alam who had defected to the RJD, was pushed to fourth position. Shahnawaz is the son of former Seemanchal strongman Mohammad Taslimuddin. His other son, Sarafaraj Alam stood third contesting on a Jan Suraj ticket.
Amour: AIMIM's Bihar president Akhtarul Iman won comfortably from his seat Amour, defeating JD-U's Saba Zafar by a little less than 39,000 votes. Congress heavyweight and former MLA Abdul Jalil Mastan was pushed to third position. Iman hails from the neighbouring seat of Kochadhaman but he had shifted to Amour in 2020, defeating Mastan.
Kochadhaman: Mohammad Sarwar Alam defeated Master Mujahid Alam by 23,000 votes. This was a seat Mahagathbandhan as hopeful to switch especially with JD-U's Mujahid Alam coming to its side. However, in the end AIMIM retained its position in the seat.
Bahadurganj: At the time of writing this story, AIMIM's Mohammad Tauseef Alam was leading by 28,000 votes ahead of the Congress and Lok Janshakti Party nominees.
Baisi: At the time of writing this article, AIMIM's Ghulam Sarwar had a lead of over 18,000 votes ahead of BJP's Vinod Kumar. The BJP had come into contention in this Muslim majority seat due to a split in votes between AIMIM's Sarwar and RJD's Abdus Subahan.
Close Losses
In Thakurganj, AIMIM's Ghulam Hasnain came second, losing to the JD-U candidate by 8800 votes.
In Kishanganj, AIMIM's Shams Aghaz polled over 50,000 votes but was a distant third behind the Congress and the BJP. The seat was eventually won by Congress' Mohammad Qamrul Hoda. AIMIM's performance in Araria was similar.
Similarly, in Kasba seat of Purnia district, AIMIM secured over 35,000 votes but was a distant third.
In Pranpur seat of Katihar district, Aftab Alam of AIMIM got over 25,000 votes. This was an interesting seat where a Hindu-Muslim pair of friends - Aftab Alam and Kanchan Das - were seen as joint candidates for the AIMIM, even though officially Aftab was the candidate.
What Explains AIMIM's Performance?
It is clear that many observers and, more so, the Mahagathbandhan underestimated the AIMIM's entrenchment in Seemanchal. There are five reasons for the party's performance.
The "outsider" tag against Owaisi didn't quite stick. This is the AIMIM's third Assembly election in Bihar and it seems to have established itself as a party for the neglected Seemanchal region.
Another reason for the AIMIM's strong showing was the Special Intensive Revision. Seemanchal witnessed a disproportionately larger number of deletions. This may have sparked fears of disenfranchisement. AIMIM, as the strongest voice for Seemanchal's Muslims, may have benefited from this.
Many also say that the AIMIM may have gained due to the perceived arrogance of the Mahagathbandhan towards Muslims, especially in the granting of tickets.
Tejashwi Yadav's personal attack on Owaisi - calling him an 'extremist' - may have backfired and generated sympathy towards him.
The JD(U) also performed better than expected in Seemanchal and this may have prevented a consolidation against AIMIM that the Mahagathbandhan was hoping for.