Patna: As campaigning intensifies ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Sunday released its first list of 25 candidates. The move has drawn attention for the inclusion of two Hindu nominees, marking a significant shift in the party’s strategy.
Announcing the list on its official handle on X, the AIMIM said it aims to be the “voice of the weakest and most neglected population” of the state.
The party, which made electoral inroads in Bihar’s Seemanchal region in the previous polls by consolidating Muslim votes, has this time sought to widen its base by fielding two Hindu candidates, Rana Ranjit Singh from Dhaka and Manoj Kumar Das from Sikandra.
AIMIM state president Akhtarul Iman will contest from Amour. Other prominent candidates include Adil Hasan from Balrampur, Shamimul Haq from Narkatia, Anas Salam from Gopalganj, Murshid Alam from Jokihat, Tausif Alam from Bahadurganj, Ghulam Hasnain from Thakurganj, Advocate Shams Aagaz from Kishanganj and Ghulam Sarwar from Baisi.
The list also features Shan-e-Ali Khan from Sherghati, Mohammad Ismail from Nathnagar, Mohammad Kaifi from Siwan, Anisur Rahman from Keoti, Faisal Rahman from Jale, Dr Munazir Hasan from Munger, Naseema Khatoon from Nawada, Rashid Khalil Ansari from Madhubani, Mohammad Jalal from Darbhanga Rural, Akhtar Shahanshah from Gaurabauram, Shahnawaz Alam from Kasba, Mohammad Manzoor Alam from Araria, Mohammad Matiur Rahman Shershahabadi from Barari and Sarwar Alam from Kochadhaman.
The AIMIM has entered the Bihar polls in alliance with the Azad Samaj Party and the Janata Party.
AIMIM’s Bihar president Akhtarul Iman said the three allied parties have always represented the voices of Dalits, minorities, the backward, the oppressed and the deprived, and would continue to vigorously fight for their rights.
The Bihar Assembly elections will be conducted in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with counting of votes scheduled for November 14.
With IANS inputs