Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM will now contest 15 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar

Bihar AIMIM president Akhatarul Iman said the party has decided to field candidates on five more Lok Sabha seats in Bihar

KISHANGANJ/ PATNA: Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Thursday said it will field candidates from Bihar’s 15 constituencies in the Lok Sabha elections, a senior Bihar AIMIM leader said.

Bihar AIMIM chief Akhatarul Iman is contesting from the Kishanganj seat (Screengrab)

“Now we have decided to contest 15 seats and we are seriously considering to contest the Madhubani seat too,” said Bihar AIMIM chief Akhatarul Iman told reporters.

On March 13, AIMIM said it would field candidates on 11 seats including Kishanganj, Purnea, Katihar, Araria (All four in Seemanchal), Darbhanga, Bhagalpur, Karakat, Buxar, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Ujiyarpur.

Imam, who is contesting from the Kishanganj Lok Sabha seat, said on Thursday that the party has also decided to field candidates in Patliputra, Samastipur, Sitamarhi, and Valmikinagar, and is serious about contesting the Madhubani seat.

In Siwan, the AIMIM will support Hena Sahab, widow of former MP and strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin, who is likely to contest the Lok Sabha election as an Independent candidate. Imam said the decision to Hena Sahab was taken in view of the sentiments of its supporters in Siwan. “Our support is for Hena for her social services,” he said.

On March 10, Henna Sahab said she did not resent the RJD not supporting her candidature. “Be it RJD, JD(U), CPI-ML, I have good ties with all of them. But parties came later. For me, Siwan is my family. I am not in RJD right now and so I will contest independently,” she said.

Shahabuddin died on May 1, 2021, at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital in New Delhi due to Covid-19.

The AIMIM won five seats in the 2020 Bihar assembly elections, all of them in the Seemanchal region. Four of the five MLAs, however, switched over to the RJD in 2022.