Dressed in strikingly similar attire, two friends, one Hindu and one Muslim, leave from the same house in Katihar’s Salmari every morning for election campaigning. In the records of the Election Commission, only Aftab is listed as the official candidate contesting the Bihar Assembly elections from the Pranpur constituency. But in all campaign materials circulating on social media, in pamphlets distributed throughout the day, and on the loudspeakers mounted on their campaign vehicle, the appeal is to vote for Aftab Kanchan.
Aftab–Kanchan, as they are popularly known in Katihar, are two friends — Mohammad Aftab Alam and Kanchan Das — whose bond goes back three decades. They have projected themselves as a joint candidate representing Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).