Owaisi's AIMIM May Join Hands With Kamal Haasan's MNM for Tamil Nadu Polls

After emerging as a force to reckon with in the Bihar assembly elections, Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has set its sights on Tamil Nadu and is all set to contest in the assembly elections to be held next year.

According to a source close to Owaisi, the AIMIM is likely to contest from not less than 25 seats in the assembly elections which are to be held in April or May 2021. The party, they said, may also join hands with actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan’s outfit Makkal Needhi Maiam.

“Owaisi is holding a discussion today (Monday) with his party office-bearers of Tamil Nadu on the assembly elections. The discussions are happening in Hyderabad,” said the source, adding that the party is likely to have conferences in Trichy and Chennai in January to finalise the electoral plan.

Owaisi and Haasan have previously found themselves on the same page, when last year the AIMIM chief had backed the latter’s statement that Nathuram Godse, who shot dead the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, should indeed be called a terrorist.

The AIMIM’s fortunes have been on an upswing lately, as the party performed remarkably well in the Bihar assembly elections, winning five crucial Muslim-dominated constituencies – Baisi, Amour, Kochadhaman, Bahadurganj and Jokihat. It had contested in 20 seats. It also managed to secure 44 seats in the Hyderabad civic polls, giving a tough fight to the BJP for the second place.

Owaisi has managed to carve out a Muslim constituency, and the party hopes to reap similar electoral success in Tamil Nadu, where Muslims form 5.86 per cent of the population, according to the 2011 Census.