Bihar polls: Shunned by INDIA, AIMIM plans to contest 100 seats

Guwahati: The AIMIM rejected by the INDIA bloc in Bihar, on Saturday said it had plans to contest 100 seats in the state assembly polls, five times the number it had fought in the last elections.

The party helmed by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, claimed that it was aiming to build a "third alternative" in Bihar, where politics has, for years, been all about the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-RJD combine.

Talking to PTI-Bhasha, the AIMIM's state president Akhtarul Iman said, "Our plan is to contest 100 seats. Both the NDA and the

Mahagathbandhan' will be forced to realise our presence."

He also claimed that the Mahagathbandhan, which had in 2020 accused the AIMIM of splitting secular votes, can no longer do so.

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"It is now common knowledge that I wrote to (RJD president) Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav, expressing willingness for a tie-up. But no response came.

"Now, we must do all that we can to expand our footprints. Yes, we are also in talks with like-minded parties to explore the possibility of a third front. It will all be clear in a few days", said the AIMIM leader.

The elections to the 243-member Bihar assembly will be held on November 6 and 11, and the counting of votes will take place on November 14.