Kishanganj : If Asaduddin Owaisi's party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, or AIMIM, wants to make an impact in Bihar politics, Kishanganj will be an important factor, with its 70% Muslim population.
The lawmaker from Hyderabad has no experience in Bihar politics, but his announcement last week -- of contesting elections in four Muslim-dominated districts --- was noted. And long before Saturday's announcement, last month, crowds had flocked to his rally in Kishenganj.
But can crowds translate into votes in an area that has been a traditional stronghold of the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Janata Dal - especially now that the three parties are in alliance?
Already knives are out for Mr Owaisi, with a local JD(U) legislator, Mujahid Alam, accusing him of being a BJP agent sent to divide the crucial Muslim vote.
"They have a secret understanding with Mr Modi. The brothers (Asaduddin and Akbaruddin Owaisi) are being promoted by them. It does not worry us at all. Everyone knows the truth," Mr Alam said.
It is a charge both Mr Owaisi and his men on the ground deny.
The BJP denies it too. "When our opponents have nothing to say, they blame us for everything, including Mr Owaisi," says Rajesh Gupta, the BJP's chief in Kishanganj city.
Here's why Mr Owaisi is facing the BJP agent charge in the first place.
In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and the 2010 assembly elections, the BJP-JD(U) combine won heavily in Seemanchal -- the collective name for the four Muslim dominated districts close to Bengal.
But in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the two parties went their separate ways and the BJP could not win a single seat in this area.
The MIM claims it could poll around 15 to 20 per cent of the Muslim vote. If that happens, the Grand Alliance will suffer.
The lawmaker from Hyderabad has no experience in Bihar politics, but his announcement last week -- of contesting elections in four Muslim-dominated districts --- was noted. And long before Saturday's announcement, last month, crowds had flocked to his rally in Kishenganj.
But can crowds translate into votes in an area that has been a traditional stronghold of the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Janata Dal - especially now that the three parties are in alliance?
"They have a secret understanding with Mr Modi. The brothers (Asaduddin and Akbaruddin Owaisi) are being promoted by them. It does not worry us at all. Everyone knows the truth," Mr Alam said.
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The BJP denies it too. "When our opponents have nothing to say, they blame us for everything, including Mr Owaisi," says Rajesh Gupta, the BJP's chief in Kishanganj city.
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In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and the 2010 assembly elections, the BJP-JD(U) combine won heavily in Seemanchal -- the collective name for the four Muslim dominated districts close to Bengal.
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The MIM claims it could poll around 15 to 20 per cent of the Muslim vote. If that happens, the Grand Alliance will suffer.
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