File photo of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will contest in six seats in the Bihar assembly elections, party chief Asaduddin Owaisi announced today.
The AIMIM last month decided to contest elections in Bihar's Seemanchal region which accounts for 24 constituencies. But the party decided to field only six candidates.
The party's Bihar unit president Akhtarul Imaan will contest from Kocha Daman constituency.
The other constituencies and candidates are: Kishangunj/Taseeruddin, Rani Gunj/Amit Paswan, Baisi/Gulam Sarwar, Amour/Nawazish Alam and Balrampur/Md Adil.
Akhtarul Imaan is a former member of Bihar assembly. He was earlier with the Janata Dal-United and the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Mr Owaisi said his party would be making a beginning in Bihar by contesting six seats and would try to build on this.
The Hyderabad lawmaker said his party was aware of its limitations and hence decided to contest a limited number of seats.
Participating in a debate on ABP News channel, Mr Owaisi said his party was fighting for the development and rights of Seemanchal region.
"Why this hue and cry over MIM contesting six seats in the 243-member assembly?" he asked, denying the allegations that his party was dividing secular votes.
Mr Owaisi wondered why no one was questioning the move by the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Left parties to contest the elections. He said these parties had put up candidates in 150-200 seats.
He defended his brother Akbaruddin Owaisi's speech at an election meeting in Kishangunj yesterday in which he used abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The lawmaker said former Union Minister Ram Jethmalani had used more harsh words for Mr Modi while calling upon people to defeat the BJP in Bihar. "We can debate the use of words," he said.
The MIM chief said cases against Mr Modi over his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots were still being heard in courts.
"All appeal systems have not been exhausted," he said, when asked why the MIM was targeting the Prime Minister when courts had given him a clean chit.
Mr Owaisi said innocent were killed in the Gujarat riots and Mr Modi, as Chief Minister, failed in his constitutional duty to protect lives and property.