Asaduddin Owaisi, Member of Parliament from Hyderabad and president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), has said that the BJP's repeated electoral victories are not because of vote-splitting by his party but due to the persistent failure of the opposition and the BJP’s successful consolidation of Hindu votes.

In a recent interview with PTI Videos, Owaisi rejected allegations that his party’s presence in elections indirectly helps the BJP by dividing the anti-Modi vote base.

How can you blame me if I contest from Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Kishanganj and a few other seats and BJP ends up winning 240 seats in the 2024 elections, Owaisi asked.

He emphasised that the BJP’s dominance is due to its strategy of consolidating nearly 50 percent of the Hindu vote, while the opposition, fragmented and ineffective, continues to lack coherence and unity.

Owaisi targets all opposition parties

Owaisi pointedly said that blaming AIMIM and calling it BJP’s B-Team is rooted in hatred and a desire to silence the political voice of Muslims. He stated that when every other community has leaders in mainstream parties, it becomes unacceptable to some when Muslims attempt to assert their own leadership.

He questioned the fairness of this imbalance:
Yadav will be a leader, Musalmaan will be a beggar. Upper caste will be a leader, Musalmaan will be a beggar. How is that fair tell me, he said.

When asked whether he was referring to specific parties, he replied that his criticism applied to all opposition parties, including Congress, BSP, SP and even BJP, for their failure to meaningfully include Muslims in political leadership.

Marginalisation of Muslims in Indian politics

Owaisi expressed concern over the underrepresentation of Muslims in India’s legislative and parliamentary processes. Despite forming nearly 15 percent of the population, Muslims hold only 4 percent of seats in Parliament and state assemblies.

He stated that founding fathers of India envisioned a participatory democracy, yet in practice, Muslims are consistently excluded from political participation.

According to Owaisi, this exclusion happens because major political parties are unwilling to field Muslim candidates, and even when they do, voters often do not elect them due to prejudice and polarisation.

He warned that India’s dream of becoming a Viksit Bharat (developed nation) by 2047 would remain unfulfilled unless the country stops marginalising its largest minority community.

Muslims deserve more than vote bank politics

Owaisi criticised the way Muslims have been used as a vote bank by many mainstream parties without any real effort to uplift their socio-economic conditions. He stressed the need to educate, employ, and empower Muslims rather than simply treating them as voters.

Our fight is that we do not want to remain just voters. We want to be citizens, Owaisi said, indicating that political inclusion is the first step towards real empowerment.

He stated that when it comes to India’s integrity and national security, the Muslim community has always stood united with the nation and the Indian military. However, he argued that the internal issues of representation, poverty, and discrimination also need to be addressed.

AIMIM’s electoral reach beyond Hyderabad

While Owaisi’s stronghold remains in Hyderabad, his party has seen electoral success in other states such as Bihar and Maharashtra, especially in constituencies with significant Muslim populations.

These wins are seen by political analysts as an attempt to expand the party’s footprint beyond its traditional base, and to present AIMIM as a pan-Indian political voice for Muslims.

Although the party has not emerged as a major national player, it has managed to secure a few seats in state legislatures, posing a challenge to regional parties in constituencies where Muslim votes are decisive.

Owaisi’s statements indicate a desire to shift from identity-based politics to issue-based leadership, advocating for inclusive development, fair political representation, and dignified citizenship for all Indians.

Calls for structural change in political representation

In the interview, Owaisi made a broader point about the need for structural changes in the way political parties approach representation and ticket distribution. He stated that marginalised communities, especially Muslims, need more than symbolic gestures—they need actual seats at the table.

He also dismissed the accusation that he helps BJP win by contesting elections, saying that election results are shaped by the strength and strategy of the opposition, not by the presence of a few seats contested by AIMIM.

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