Muslim leaders from Telangana belonging to the Congress and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) are fighting over the Bihar assembly elections.
On Saturday, senior Congress leader and advisor to the Telangana Government Mohammed Ali Shabbir accused the AIMIM of deliberately sabotaging the chances of Muslim Congress candidates in Bihar by dividing secular votes and indirectly helping the BJP. AIMIM dismissed the allegations, saying the two parties are working together in the Jubilee Hills by-election in Hyderabad.
Speaking to media people after campaigning for Congress candidate Qamar Ul Huda in Kharkhari village of Kishanganj constituency, Shabbir Ali said AIMIM had turned into the BJP’s “B-team” by contesting in Muslim-dominated areas only to weaken secular parties.
“AIMIM is acting as a spoiler. Instead of strengthening secular forces, it is cutting into Muslim votes and helping the BJP. The party has become a real ‘vote katwa’,” he said.
Shabbir Ali said the Congress has always stood for the welfare and political empowerment of minorities through inclusive representation and policies. By dividing Muslim votes, he said, MIM was obstructing the community’s path to meaningful representation.
“Every vote split in these constituencies strengthens communal forces. AIMIM’s entry in such areas is clearly designed to damage Congress candidates and reduce Muslim political influence,” he added.
AIMIM leader and former Member of Legislative Council Syed Amin Jafri said: “Congress leaders suffer from global and local effects. Here in Jubilee Hills locally, we are working together, and there in Bihar they are accusing us of working against them. Congress demands our support inside and outside the Assembly and we extend it. Asaduddin Owaisi has offered to the Indi Alliance to support wherever possible. We are contesting in 20 seats, mostly in the Seemanchal region, we are not sabotaging anyone’s chances.”
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Referring to past elections, Shabbir Ali said that in the last Bihar Assembly polls, AIMIM had won only four seats but helped the BJP gain an advantage in more than two dozen constituencies by dividing the Muslim vote. “People have now understood their tactics. This time, MIM candidates will not even be able to save their deposits,” he said.
Calling on voters in Kishanganj and other Muslim-majority regions to unite behind Congress nominees, Shabbir Ali said the community must not allow its strength to be diluted. “We should send a strong message that Muslims will not be misled by divisive politics. Md Qamar Ul Huda represents a secular and inclusive vision, and the community must ensure his victory,” he said.
He urged local Congress workers to intensify door-to-door campaigning and counter misinformation spread by rival parties. “Our fight is not only against BJP but also against those who indirectly strengthen it by fragmenting secular votes,” he said.
Shabbir Ali, who joined the election campaign Saturday, said unity among secular forces was the only way to stop the BJP’s divisive agenda. “Wherever MIM contests, BJP gains. That is the pattern across states. People must see through this design,” he remarked.
