The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen's (AIMIM) success in the Bihar Assembly elections, winning five seats, has generated a great deal of curiosity on where the originally Hyderabad-based party will expand next.
In this context, two statements by its top leaders are important.
- AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi recently said that it has been the consistent stand of the party that it would not contest elections in Assam and Kerala, as Badruddin Ajmal's AIUDF and the Indian Union Muslim League are present in the two states.
- The second statement is a tweet by Aurangabad MP and AIMIM Maharashtra President Imtiaz Jaleel: "Bihar tou jhaaki hai..WB, UP baaki hai" (Bihar is just the beginning, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are remaining).
This clearly indicates which states are in the AIMIM's radar and which aren’t.
Through his speeches which are widely shared on social media, Owaisi has attained a great deal of popularity, especially among younger Muslims across India. But will this lead to electoral success in Bengal and UP like it did in Bihar?
This piece will look at AIMIM's prospects in these two states and one more which doesn't get talked about much. Since elections in West Bengal are due next year, it will also look at the state of Muslim representation there.