Pune: Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is poised to snatch the minority community votes, which traditionally went to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, in the Pune civic polls.
The party has given tickets to 21 Muslim candidates (including open and backward categories) of the 25 candidates it has placed in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) polls.
That strategy is in tune with the party’s focus on the Muslim and Ambedkarite-dominated wards in the city. The AIMIM aims to build up its capability for the 2019 State Assembly elections.
Low on minorities
Among other contestants, the Congress has given tickets to nine Muslim candidates, while the NCP and the BJP have five Muslim aspirants. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has three minority candidates, while the Shiv Sena has only two. Most are contesting as Independents.
The Muslim community constitutes nearly 11% of the city’s population, however, just 90 of the 1,090 aspirants in the polls are representing minority communities.
Mr. Owaisi’s strategy is consistent with his minimum candidates and maximum results plan.
‘Not Muslim-centric’
However, AIMIM leaders said they does not want to project that the party gives preference only to Muslims.
Anjum Inamdar, AIMIM’s Western Maharashtra in-charge, said, “We take into consideration all sections, as evinced by our ticket-allocation during the 2015 Aurangabad civic polls, where we emerged as the opposition party.”
One such instance of the party’s inclusive philosophy is their Christian aspirant Ashwini Daniel Landge, who is contesting from panel 6. Ms. Landge is well-known for the social work she has done in her ward.
According to her husband, other parties were not interested in giving tickets to Christian candidates or did not think their representation to be a decisive vote-swinger.
Holistic agenda
Ashwini, who initially claimed to be indifferent to entering the political arena, said the AIMIM’s holistic agenda made her change her mind. She said, “My panel has more than 3,000 Christian voters. But we aren’t targeting them as a mere vote-bank.”
Mr. Inamdar said that a large section of the city’s minority community were angry with the Congress and the NCP for not having taken cognisance of their interests.
