Anti-Hindu MIM party to start its branches in Mumbai and Maharashtra

August 6, 2013 

Ashadh Amawasya, Kaliyug Varsha 5115

By Mamta Sen

New Delhi : Asaduddin Owaisi, Member of Parliament from Hyderabad and president of the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), is finding a fan following among Mumbai's Muslim youth. He is so enthused with the response his foot soldiers are getting in the city from the young, that he is all set to launch his party offices across the city. Post Eid celebrations next week, the AIMIM will inaugurate its offices in Bandra and South Mumbai, which are the constituencies of Congress MPs Priya Dutt and Milind Deora respectively. The AIMIM is also planning to put up candidates across the state (including Mumbai) in the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections. Many believe that the "Owaisi factor" will play a major role in denting the Congress' traditional Muslim vote bank in the city.

"Post our victory in the Nanded and Nandurbar civic elections (against the Congress), the majority of the youth approaching us are fresh graduates from colleges. Some uneducated youth are also coming to us. They want to know where they can contact us in Mumbai. We were so surprised with the response that we decided to open offices here. We shall have offices in Bandra, Mohammad Ali Road in South Mumbai, and Ambernath and Vashi in New Bombay," said Sayyad Moin, president of the AMIM in Maharashtra. Moin added that Owaisi too will visit Mumbai as he has a special agenda for the Muslim youth.

"The job is to identify young Muslims and groom them as future leaders. We are specially targeting uneducated youth from the slums and looking at methods of empowering them both socially and politically. The Congress-NCP government has been wrongly implicating young Muslims in false bomb blast cases while the BJP and the Shiv Sena keep scaring them. Muslims, especially in Maharashtra, lead a hand-to-mouth existence. They do not get steady jobs in government nor bank loans. They are forced to work as daily wage labourers. Owaisi being a barrister himself and well versed in law, the youth are drawn towards him," he states.

The AIMIM is also forging alliances with several Maratha lobbies (from Raigad and Pune), Buddhists and those belonging to SC/ST categories. A top AMIM functionary confirmed that they may initially join hands with a regional party in Maharashtra to contest the elections. The decision will be announced in a week's time.

The functionary further said that post Ramzan, Owaisi will personally oversee the party's expansion program in the Muslim dominated pockets of Marathwada, Vidarbha and Northern and Western Maharashtra.