Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s (AIMIM) preferred choice for an alliance partner in the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly election is the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) or TTV Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK). While talks are underway, the AIMIM is confident that it will contest the elections, if need be independently if an alliance doesn’t work out as planned. According to sources, a DMK leader has been in touch with AIMIM.
TNM had earlier reported that the AIMIM’s Tamil Nadu unit has submitted a list to the party chief with the names of 20 seats from Tamil Nadu and 2 seats from Puducherry where the unit would like to field candidates.
Sources from the AIMIM stated that though the party’s Tamil Nadu unit is eager to contest from 20 seats, it is unlikely that the party will agree to contest in so many seats.
Vaniyambadi is going to be one of the seats the party is going to direct all its efforts in this election. In the 2016 Assembly elections, the AIMIM had fielded Vakeel Ahmed from this constituency, who is the party’s state unit President.
In 2016, the AIMIM managed to get 10,117 votes which is 5.9% of the total vote share. The AIADMK’s candidate got 69,588 votes and won from this constituency. This time, party chief Asaduddin Owaisi will campaign for his party in all the constituencies where the party decides to field its candidates.
The DMK’s representatives were initially keen to bring the AIMIM into their fold, but however, the concerns raised by other Muslim parties about the AIMIM joining the alliance has led to the status quo. “Not sure why the other Muslim parties are so worried about the MIM’s entry,” quipped a senior source in the party.
The state unit has been entrusted with the responsibility of handling the talks with the parties interested in forging an alliance with the AIMIM. Despite the uncertainties, the state unit seems confident that talks with the DMK will turn out to be fruitful.