Owaisi to support NDA govt in Bihar? AIMIM chief makes BIG statement, assures ‘full cooperation’ to Nitish Kumar if…

In a remarkable development, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has hinted a supporting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led NDA government in Bihar, stating that his party will lend “full cooperation” to the ruling dispensation if Kumar manages to keep “communalism” at bay in the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region.

Will Owaisi support NDA in Bihar?

Owaisi, who is on a two-day tour of Seemanchal, Bihar’s north-eastern region, where AIMIM won five seats in the recent Bihar Assembly Election, promised “full cooperation” to the Nitish Kumar government, provided it does justice to the Muslim-dominated region.

“We extend good wishes to the new government that has been formed in Patna. We can also promise full cooperation provided it does justice to the Seemanchal region and also kept communalism at bay,” the Hyderabad MP said.

Owaisi’s remarks come in the backdrop of the allegations of “rampant infiltration” in Seemanchal by the BJP, which it claims was leading to “demographic imbalance” in the region.

What did Owaisi say about development in Seemanchal?

Asaduddin Owaisi urged the NDA government led by Nitish Kumar to “pay some attention to this neglected region”, and “not remain obsessed with Patna and Rajgir”.

“The AIMIM has been fighting not just for Muslims, but for all people living in Seemanchal, which has a high population of Dalits and tribals, too. We expect the new government to pay some attention to this neglected region, and not remain obsessed with Patna and Rajgir,” Owaisi said.

Rajgir, a famous Buddhist pilgrimage town in Nalanda district, to which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar belongs, has been chosen for developing several facilities in the past few years, including an international cricket stadium and a film city.

‘MY combination needs a rethink’

The AIMIM supremo also took a veiled jibe at the RJD, the INDIA bloc’s largest constituent in Bihar, which had spurned his party’s request for a tie-up in the assembly polls.

“It has been proven that those who seek the votes of Muslims in the name of stopping the BJP will not be able to stop that party. So, those who have been relying on the MY (Muslim Yadav) combination must do a rethink,” he said.

NDA wins landslide majority in Bihar

Earlier this month, the ruling NDA registered a landslide victory in the Bihar Assembly Election, winning more than 200 seats in the 243-member House, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party.

In contrast, the opposition Mahagathbandhan led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress, faced a rout in the state, winning just 33 of the 243 seats it had contested, with Congress securing a dismal 6 seats out of the 61 it fought.

(With inputs from agencies)