Asaduddin Owaisi mocks Aaditya’s entry into poll politics

Mumbai: “Remote control might have stopped working,” said Asaduddin Owaisi, president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Musl-imeen (AIMIM), while reacting to Aaditya Thackeray’s decision to participate in electoral politics.

The AIMIM president, whose party will be contesting on 52 seats in the upcoming polls, was in the city on Friday to campaign for his candidates.

Speaking to reporters, the Hyderabad MP touched upon a range of issues but avoided answering any question relating to his party dividing the Opposition votes.

“Why is this question always put to us? The unity of Opposition is not my responsibility,” he said adding, “It is for the main Opposition parties to think why their senior leaders are disheartened and leaving the party.”

He also decried the attempts by Congress and NCP to brand his party as the B-team of the ruling BJP, adding that the AIMIM has always been the A-team.

Mr Owaisi clarified that the party has only chosen those seats where it has strong chances of winning.

AIMIM MP Imtiyaz Jaleel and Maharashtra general secretary Shakir Patni were also present along with Mr Owaisi at the press conference.

Mr Owaisi tried to downplay the BJP’s claim of working towards the welfare of Muslim women, adding that the saffron party cares very little for Muslims as it has not fielded any candidate from the community.

“BJP has failed to fulfil its promises. Since 2014, 14,000 farmers have committed suicide, industrial output has reduced in Maharashtra and GDP has gone down. Hence, the BJP is talking about Article 370 to divert attention from such pressing issues,” said Mr Owaisi.

The Hyderabad-based AIMIM had made a strong debut in the 2014 Assembly polls by winning two seats — Byculla (Waris Pathan) and Aurangabad Central (Imtiyaz Jaleel).