Jaleel said AIMIM’s objective is to ensure that votes do not get divided which will prove advantageous for the BJP
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s (AIMIM) Maharashtra unit has offered to tie up with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), an alliance between the Shiv Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), to “keep away BJP from power”. However, Shiv Sena, one of the main constituents of the MVA, rejected the offer.
“We are ready to tie up with the MVA government so that we can keep the communal-minded BJP away from power,” Imtiaz Jaleel, AIMIM spokesperson, told The Indian Express Saturday.
Jaleel added that during the Uttar Pradesh election, BSP MPs wanted a tie up with his party. “The BSP MPs were after us. They wanted to tie up with us. Despite our best efforts, BSP chief Mayawati refused to have an alliance with us. The result is for everyone to see,” he said.
Jaleel said AIMIM’s objective is to ensure that votes do not get divided which will prove advantageous for the BJP. “It has happened in Goa as well where the votes got divided between different parts and as a result, BJP returned to power. We want all non-BJP parties to come together to fight the elections and keep the BJP out of power,” he said.
Jaleel said it is a serious offer. “The MVA is a three-wheeled vehicle. If they add one more wheel, it will get further strengthened,” he said. He added that he has made the offer through MVA Minister Rajesh Tope.
“The minister had come to my home to pay tribute to my mother who passed away recently. During a conversation, he said Congress-NCP are losing because of the AIMIM. Then I told him that we are ready to join them to keep the BJP away from power.”
Reacting to the offer, Sanjay Raut, MP and chief spokesperson of the Shiv Sena, said, “We will not have any pact with people who bow their heads before the samadhi (mausoleum) of Aurangzeb who brutally killed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. There is no question of having an alliance with such a party.”
Jaleel said like every Mahararashtrian, Muslim too have great respect for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his son Sambhaji. “Aurangzeb is a part of our history and this cannot be denied but we never bow before the samadhi of Aurangzeb. The Sena uses the names of Chhatrapati Shivaji for political gains but our respect for the Maratha warrior king comes from our heart,” he said.