Keen to contest Lok Sabha elections from Mumbai: AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel

Imtiaz Jaleel. Pic/X

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Imtiaz Jaleel said on Friday that he is keen to contest from Mumbai in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as it will help AIMIM expand its presence in other areas, reported news agency PTI.

Jaleel, who won from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (earlier Aurangabad) in 2019, told a news channel that AIMIM is often labelled as the 'B team of BJP' but so many people (from other parties) are "now sitting on its lap", reported PTI.

"We are confident of winning in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Then why should we not try to spread our base in other areas," he said, expressing his wish to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Mumbai, reported PTI.

"I'll discuss my (Mumbai) plan with party chief Asaduddin Owaisi when we meet in Akola on February 18," he said, reported PTI.

Earlier, AIMIM's Maharashtra working president Dr Abdul Gaffar Quadri had said that the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) is planning to contest five out of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in the upcoming general elections.

Addressing a press conference in Bhiwandi, AIMIM's Maharashtra working president Dr Abdul Gaffar Quadri said the party aims to five Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. The party is aiming to field its candidates in North Mumbai, Dhule, Nanded, Bhiwandi and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar seats in the state, reported PTI.

The Asaduddin Owaisi-led party is currently conducting surveys in these five Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra to formulate an effective electoral strategy, he said.

Quadri hit out at the opposition Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), characterising them as secular parties and claimed that they consider the AIMIM as "untouchables", reported PTI.

He raised questions over the treatment meted out to AIMIM, which is not a part of the opposition INDIA bloc, by the "so called" secular parties, reported PTI.

He also criticised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who recently ditched the 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance which included the RJD, the Congress and Left parties) and the opposition INDIA bloc, and formed a new government with the BJP, which he had dumped less than 18 months ago, reported PTI.

The AIMIM leader claimed that all was "not well" within the opposition INDIA alliance.

(With inputs from PTI)