She writes analyzing the Bihar Election 2020 that two gentlemen, Chiragh Paswan and Asaduddin Owaisi played a pivotal role in it. Her observation about Owaisi clearly concludes that AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi has peaceful relationship with the BJP and he has always been excited to defeat the Congress. Here is her observation:
The other gentleman is AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi from Hyderabad who in his excitement to defeat the Congress and possibly the Rashtirya Janata Dal actually managed to win five Assembly seats in the Muslim belt of Bihar. A politician accused of playing political footsie with the BJP in Maharashtra, Owaisi is accused by angry Congress leaders for delving into their vote bank and ensuring defeat. One of the spokespersons wanted to know why the BJP treated Owaisi with kid gloves despite his diatribe against it, maintaining that this was only because both were working hand in hand against the ‘secular’ political parties.
Owaisi has an unshakeable following in Hyderabad, and despite efforts locally by political parties and even Muslim gentry he remains pretty well entrenched. He is well educated, a good orator, fluent in languages, and argumentative with a decisive flair. But that he speaks from the side of the conservative Muslims is a given, helps in polarisation of communities through his sheer presence in constituencies, and seems to have a peaceful relationship with the BJP despite his jargon.
For him the five seats in Bihar are invaluable, more so as his strong campaign in Muslim areas seems to have paid him dividends. Unfortunately this will help divisive politics in the region, as AIMIM is not really known for its commitment to secularism in the field. By standing up to the BJP and its ideology Owaisi has commanded attention through these years, speaking out with what some see as courage, and others as part of a deal. There is a big question mark over his politics, that he does not hesitate to deny when asked. But that he always chooses to jump into crucial state elections and work against the perceived interests of the anti-BJP forces feeds into suspicions that he has not been able to shake off.
His argument ‘why should I not contest the elections, I have as much right as anyone else’ seems sound on the face of it. Until his political opponents ask, “why then does he want to cut into our votes, and thereby strengthen the BJP?” For the Owaisi brand of politics, this is not his concern. He is there to contest and he will continue to do so, regardless of the consequences. The problem is he does not have many believers even across the political spectrum.
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