The AIMIM chief shrugs off allegations of his party being the ‘B team’ of the BJP
Team Clarion
HYDERABAD – After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured victory in the recent Haryana Assembly elections, All India Majlis Ittihadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Hyderabad MP chose to shrug off the allegations of his party being the ‘B team’ of the saffron party.
Addressing a public meeting in Telangana’s Vikarabad on Friday night, the AIMIM supremo said that ‘secular’ parties have always blamed him for causing a split in anti-BJP votes in elections. “But how did Congress lose in Haryana though the AIMIM did not field any candidate there,” he asked. In a veiled reference to Congress, he said the “old party” has to take everyone along to defeat the BJP, a PTI report said on Saturday.
“How did they (BJP) win (Haryana)? I was not there. Otherwise, they would have said ‘B Team’… They lost there. Now, you tell me, they lost because of whom?” he said.
“I would like to tell the old party. Understand what I am saying. You have to take everyone along to defeat (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi. You will not be able to do anything alone,” he said.
The BJP clinched a stunning hat-trick win in Haryana, overcoming anti-incumbency and dashing Congress’ hopes of a comeback. The saffron party won 48 of the 90 assembly seats in the state, well above the simple majority mark of 46.
Exit polls had projected a win in Haryana for the Congress party, but the BJP managed to come back to power in the state for a third term, months after suffering electoral losses in the parliamentary elections.
Haryana state elections have been a nightmare for pollsters. In 2014, BJP bagged 33 per cent vote share and secured 47 seats. In 2019, its vote share increased by four per cent to 37 per cent, but its seat tally declined to 40. In 2024, its vote share increased by three per cent to 40 per cent, while its seat tally increased to 48.
