Asaduddin Owaisi arrives in Kishanganj on three-day visit to Bihar's Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region

PATNA: The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) national president Asaduddin Owaisi arrived at Kishanganj on Friday on a three-day tour to Bihar’s Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region, comprising four districts of Purnia division.

Owaisi, who is staying at a hotel in Kishanganj town, would participate in ‘Seemanchal Adhikar Yatra’ on March 18 and 19 to highlight the discrimination meted out with the region by the successive governments at the Centre and in the state, the AIMIM state president Akhtarul Iman told TOI on Friday.

Iman further said, Owaisi would participate in different programmes in Balrampur, Baisi, Amour, Kochadhaman, Kishanganj and Bahadurpur assembly constituencies on March 18 and 19, besides leading two ‘Seemanchal Adhikar Padyatra’ to highlight the backwardness of the region. During the padyatra, Owaisi would interact with common people, Iman said.

Earlier in the day, Owaisi was accorded a warm welcome by senior leaders of the party’s Bihar unit when he landed at Bagdogra (Siliguri) airport in West Bengal. From Bagdogra, Owaisi came to Kishanganj by road.

The Hyderabad MP’s three-day visit to Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region assumes political significance as it is being held just three weeks after the seven-party ruling Mahagathbandhan held a massive joint rally at Purnia on February 25 to counter the BJP’s move to make sharp polarisation of voters on the line of religion ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Earlier in September 2022, Union home minister Amit Shah not only addressed a big rally in Purnia but also stayed in Seemanchal region for two days to energise the party workers for the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Bihar assembly polls in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

The Seemanchal region has four Lok Sabha seats. Of total four, Kishanganj seat is held by Congress, Katihar and Purnia by the JD(U) while Araria by the BJP.

The region has 24 assembly constituencies. In the 2020 assembly polls, the BJP won 8 seats, Cong (5), AIMIM (5) JD-U (4), CPI-ML (1) and RJD (1). Later in June last year, the AIMIM’s four MLAs deserted the party and joined the Lalu Prasad-led RJD.

The four MLAs who joined the RJD were Md Shahnawaz Alam (Jokihat), Md Anzar Nayeemi (Bahadurpur), Md Izhar Asfi (Kochadhaman) and Syed Ruknuddin Ahmad (Baisi). Alam and Nayeemi were earlier with the RJD.

Only Amour MLA Akhtarul Iman, who is also the AIMIM’s leader in the assembly and its state president, remained with Owaisi’s party in Bihar.