Owaisi-led AIMIM recently said they were likely to form an alliance with the JD(S).
Amidst speculations of an alliance between the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the Janata Dal Secular JD(S) for the upcoming elections, the JD(S) has refused to form an alliance with the AIMIM.
JD(S) spokesperson Prathap said that the party had no plans of an alliance with anybody, even with AIMIM. “This time we will be contesting for all 224 seats,” he added.
Asaduddin Owaisi, president of the AIMIM had said that alliance with the JD(S) was possible for the upcoming state elections.
“JD(S) president came to us and suggested an alliance. The party’s national president said that alliance was in the picture. If it doesn’t come through we will win 25 seats on our own,” said Zakir, Karnataka state executive for AIMIM.
AIMIM will contest from 25 seats in the poll-bound Karnataka. In the 2018 elections, AIMIM had backed JD(S) and none of its candidates had contested the elections. The JD(S) had won 37 seats in the 2018 assembly elections.
“In 2018, when we tried to form an alliance with the Congress, we were backstabbed. This time we don’t want to be in a situation like that,” said the JD(S) spokesperson.
He alleged that Congress and BJP were fanning the rumors of an alliance as they were desperate to win the elections. “We consider BJP and Congress factions of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). We call them CONG-RSS spreading lies to gain votes,” he added.
Suresh, spokesperson for the Bharartiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the JD(S) was trying to do whatever it took to win 40 seats.
“AIMIM and JD(S) are the “B’ teams of BJP. Owaisi is a vote-breaker. We are confident that our votes will not be disturbed,” said Congress leader Mansoor Ali khan earlier in context with the Congress worrying about its Muslim vote bank.
Congress spokesperson, Aishwarya said that such alliances were futile and people of Karnataka knew the reality of such alliances. She also called these parties opportunistic.
Dr. Surendra Kumar, a political science professor said such an alliance would disturb the vote bank of JD(S) which is why they won’t go ahead with it. “They know that they can win seats and have a sufficient number of minority votes. Both Congress and JD(s) rely on their minority vote bank and are both established parties in the state whereas AIMIM is still struggling to make an impact here which is why they are offering an alliance,” he added.
