Aurangabad seat puts AIMIM in trouble

Mumbai: All is not well with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) as one of its MLA may quit party before Lok Sabha elections. Sources within the party revealed that MLA Imtiyaz Jaleel is unhappy with the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat being given to former Bombay high court judge B.G. Kolse Patil at the behest of its ally’s leader Prakash Ambedkar.

The AIMIM went into alliance with the Mr Ambedkar led Bhaujan Vanchit Aghadi recently, which was a subject for speculation for political analysts as the latter was even approached by the Congress.

Mr Ambedkar fielded Mr Patil for Aurangabad, which has upset the AIMIM party workers. They asserted that the constituency has a notable Muslim population with a strong political base for AIMIM. Sources said that MLA Jaleel might contest elections as an independent candidate for the seat, given that Mr Ambedkar would not retract from his announcement.

They stated that AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi has not made much effort to pacify Mr Jaleel and has not pushed for his candidature. When The Asian Age tried to contact Mr Jaleel, he was unavailable for comment.

AIMIM workers have stated that if Mr Jaleel is not given Aurangabad seat, they will vote for Congress.