Maharashtra civic polls: How AIMIM defied internal turmoil to win 126 seats across state | Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar News
CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Defying internal dissent, ticket-related rebellions, sharp criticism, and even the resignation of key office bearers in protest against party state president and former MP Syed Imtiaz Jaleel’s decisions related to ticket distribution, the All-India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) significantly improved its electoral performance in the civic polls. It won 33 seats in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation and bagged a total of 126 seats across Maharashtra.The improved tally in Sambhajinagar marked a clear jump from the 2015 municipal corporation elections, when the party had secured 24 seats.AIMIM also registered gains in several urban pockets across the state. The party has won 21 seats in Malegaon, 14 in Nanded Waghala, 12 in Amravati, 10 in Dhule, 8 in Solapur, and eight in Mumbai. It also secured six seats in Nagpur, three in Akola, two each in Ahilyanagar and Jalna, and five seats in Thane.Reacting to the results, Imtiaz Jaleel said the verdict dispelled the long-held false perception of AIMIM being confined to a single community. “The results broke the misconception that AIMIM is an ‘only Muslim’ political party. Hindu, SC, and ST community candidates were elected on AIMIM tickets,” he said. Citing the example of Gulmandi ward in Sambhajinagar, traditionally considered a Shiv Sena-BJP stronghold, he noted that two of the four winning candidates there were from AIMIM.Jaleel also outlined the party’s political approach in the civic bodies, stating that AIMIM would support BJP on initiatives that benefit citizens while firmly opposing decisions that go against the public interest.The party’s performance assumed added significance against the backdrop of internal turmoil triggered after Jaleel dropped 21 of the 24 councillors who won in 2015 from Sambhajinagar. The move had sparked protests and dramatic scenes by disgruntled politicians, forcing AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi and his brother, MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi, to intervene.In Sambhajinagar, the Congress suffered a near-total wipeout, losing 70 of the 71 seats it contested. The lone Congress winner was Maleka Habib Qureshi, who managed to retain her seat after a tough contest against an AIMIM candidate. Congress had won 11 seats in 2015, and the disastrous results are being credited to poor planning and failure to portray itself as an alternative to communal polarisation.
