2 weeks Ago By Ajay Tomar
HYDERABAD: Of the 16 candidates fielded by the AIMIM in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the sitting MLA fielded by the party, Mufti Mohammad Ismail Abdul Khalique, won by a slender margin of 162 votes over his nearest rival Asif Shaikh Rasheed of the recently formed Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra’s (ISLAM). Congratulating Abdul Khalique, AIMIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi tweeted: “Congratulations to Mufti Ismail sahab on being elected as Malegaon MLA for a second time. I am thankful to the people of Maharashtra who voted for us in large numbers.
To our candidates, party workers and supporters, I urge you all to not lose heart and work with renewed resolve. If anything, the election results show that the people are looking for a genuine political alternative and that Majlis has established itself in Maharashtra’s politics (sic).” In 2014 polls, Rasheed had won the seat on a Congress ticket while he was defeated in 2019 he was defeated by Khalique by a margin of 38,519 votes.
However, the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, which had two MLAs in the outgoing House, faced defeat in the remaining constituencies it fielded candidates. These include sitting MLA Faruk Shah Anwar from Dhule city and former MP Syed Imtiaz Jaleel from Aurangabad East. While Anwar lost by 45,750 votes to BJP’s Agrawal Anupbhaiyya Omprakash, Jaleel was defeated by BJP’s Atul Moreshwar Save by a mere 2,161 votes.
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