Owaisi’s AIMIM and its Women Members

Ground Report | New Delhi: Owaisi’s AIMIM and its Women Members; On Tuesday, 21^st Sept, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Musliimeen (AIMM) called in a press conference in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh where its party President Asaduddin Owaisi inducted former Minister of Parliament of the Samajwadi Party and Jailed gangster Atique Ahmed and his wife Shaista Parveen as members of the party.

Ahmed couldn’t join in presence of the whole media as he is serving his term as an inmate in the Sabarmati Central Correctional Home in Gujarat. He has numerous charges of extortion, kidnapping and murder against him. Although, His wife was present in the conference. 

When asked about the induction of Ahmed into the party by the media Owaisi replied that many BJP leaders are also facing many cases lodged against them but are into politics. He also added that Muslim party members and supporters of other political parties like Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the BJP are treated as slaves. Hearing this statement from Owaisi, the BJP lashed out that they will not tolerate “Jinnah’s Jehadi Mentality”. 

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Owaisi’s AIMIM and its Women Members

This is not the first time that Asaduddin Owaisi led AIMIM has acted in this particular fashion and been in controversies. The party has been opposing the BJP government and other parties that does not support the ideology of AIMIM. 

Inducting Shaista Parveen as a member of the party is one of those rare moments when a woman has been included by the party. Before this incident, there has only been a woman member by the name of V. Bhanumathi, a Hindu OBC candidate who was given the ticket for contesting elections but it was only in the local level where she won against Congress Party’s Hazira Sultana by 1282 votes in 2013. 

Without these 2 cases there has been minimum to nil participation of women in the decision making as well as operations of the party. AIMM is a predominantly men dominated political party.

The party’s origins go back to the times of the Nizams of Hyderabad. It was founded by Nawab Mahmood Nawaz Khan Qiledar with consultation of Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan in the year 1927 as Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and the first meeting was held on 12^th November 1927.

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The name was changd by Abdul Wahed Owaisi to AIMIM after the annexation of the princely state of Hyderabad into India in 1948. Since then the party has been operating as AIMIM.  (Owaisi’s AIMIM and its Women Members)

Currently the National President of the party is Asaduddin Owaisi who is a 4 times member of the Lok Sabha (Minister of Parliament) followed by General Secretary Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri who is currently a MLA from Yakutpura constituency, Telengana. He had won the elections previously from Charminar Constituency in 2004 also.

 AIMIM in Hyderabad

AIMIM mainly holds majority in the state of Hyderabad but is slowly gaining popularity in the states of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The party has been contesting the Maharashtra Legislative elections since 2014 and winning seats in few. But the major breakthrough was in 2019 when Imtiaz Jaleel won the Aurangabad seat. This was the first time when AIMIM won its maiden seat outside Telengana.

In Bihar the state president of AIMIM is Akhtarul Iman who contested from Kishanganj in the 2019 Indian general election, becoming third. Later that year, Qamrul Hoda won the Bihar Legislative Assembly seat of the same name in a by-election.

AIMIM contested the 2020 Bihar Legislative Assembly election as part of the Grand Democratic Secular Front. The party won 5 seats in the Seemanchal region, with Akhtarul Iman winning from Amour. 

It also seems that the party looks to contest legislative assembly elections in West Bengaland Uttar Pradesh in 2022. AIMIM will fight 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election in alliance of Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha. Asaduddin Owaisi, the party President has announced to fight on 100 seats in UP. 

Owaisi’s Kolkata rally regarding the West Bengal polls this thursday was cancelled by the state police department due to the fear of the ongoing Covid health protocols.  Party's state secretary Zameerul Hasan said the police did not give them permission for the rally.

Meanwhile, the Trinomool Congress has denied any involvement in the cancellation of the rally. "We had applied 10 days back for permission. But today we were informed by the police that they will not permit us to hold the rally. We can't be cowed down by such tactics of the ruling TMC. We will discuss and soon announce a fresh date for a programme," news agency PTI quoted Hasan on Wednesday.

If analysis is done properly the party does not involves women into any works or decisions. Controversies goes on and statements against the Central ruling party and other parties is also spread by them. Rumours of different type of threats to other than AIMIM party members are in circulation along with vandalization of properties and spread of religious hatred and communalism. 

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