AIMIM enters local candidate in Mum North Central contest

Mumbai: The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has fielded a candidate from Mumbai North Central, where lawyer Ujwal Nikam of the BJP and Varsha Gaikwad of the Congress are the main contestants. AIMIM national spokesperson Waris Pathan said Advocate Ramzan Choudhary would fight the Lok Sabha election from the seat, the only one that the party will contest in the city.“He is a grassroot worker, and we will make every effort to make him win. We were hopeful till the last day that the Maha Vikas Aghadi would get at least one minority community candidate to contest the election. I was asked to contest the election, but I have told the party that I will go and campaign and instead Choudhary, who is a local and a social worker, will contest,” Pathan said.The UP-based Rashtriya Ulama Council (RUC) also fielded a candidate, Kurban Husain, from Mumbai North Central, while also fielding Mohd Siraj Iqbal Shaikh from Mumbai North East, where Mihir Kotecha of BJP is fighting Sanjay Dina Patil of Sena (UBT).BJP could not find a local candidate in North Central and instead brought in one from Jalgaon, said Pathan. “Even MVA did not find a local candidate and brought in an MLA from another constituency. But we have given a local candidate. Our fight is directly with the BJP,” Pathan said. Gaikwad is an MLA from adjoining Dharavi.Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Anil Parab said the way the VBA and AIMIM were fielding candidates, it showed that they were working like the ‘B’ team of the BJP. “But they will not be able to cause any dent to the MVA or INDIA bloc. After pretending to be fighting to save the Constitution and democracy, they have now exposed themselves as the BJP’s B team,” he said.SP MLA Rais Shaikh, who is part of the MVA, said splinter parties will not be able to split the Muslim vote this time. “The Muslim community has already realised that these parties are not cutters and will eventually help the NDA. The Muslim community has already made up its mind to wholeheartedly support the INDIA bloc to save the Constitution and democracy,” Shaikh said. Congress functionary Sachin Sawant said the AIMIM decision was at the instance of the BJP. “MIM has fielded the candidate on BJP directives. Whether in Bihar or in several states, MIM has been fielding candidates to oblige the BJP. Certainly, it helped BJP regain power. However, it was found that this MIM experiment failed in Telangana, where most of its candidates lost their deposit. Our voters are alert, they will not succumb to such tactics of BJP,” Sawant said.
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