Imtiaz Jaleel to fight Maharashtra Assembly polls, says AIMIM chief Owaisi

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All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said former Aurangabad Lok Sabha lawmaker Imtiaz Jaleel will contest the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls.

Addressing a press conference in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Owaisi also announced the names of legislators Mufti Ismail and Shah Faruk Anwar as well as Farooq Shabdi and Raees Lashkariya as candidates of his party.

Ismail is a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Malegaon Central seat, while Anwar is a legislator from Dhule city. Lashkariya is the party's Mumbai unit chief.

The constituency of Jaleel, who lost the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to Shiv Sena's Sandipan Bhumre, was not announced.

AIMIM had extended a proposal to the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for an electoral alliance ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls. However, if the opposition coalition does not respond by September 9, AIMIM will move forward independently, Jaleel said on September 7. Jaleel stated that AIMIM is eager to contest a select number of seats where the Hyderabad-based party has significant influence.

Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, he emphasised the party's intent to prevent the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti coalition, which includes Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), from retaining power in the Maharashtra Assembly polls.

Ajit Pawar's NCP must oppose Waqf Bill: Owaisi

Meanwhile, during his visit to Maharashtra, Owaisi also spoke about the Waqf Amendment Bill tabled in the Parliament, and said that Deputy Chief Minister Pawar's NCP must oppose it.

"Ajit Pawar says he may have joined hands with BJP but has not left secularism. If that is the case, then he should oppose this bill of the Narendra Modi government. It gives too much power to the collector on decisions pertaining to Waqf land. This is bill is anti-Constitutional," Owaisi said.

On August 25, Owaisi slammed the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government in the Centre over the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, claiming that the new legislation seeks to undermine rather than preserve Waqf properties. Speaking at a press conference, the Hyderabad Member of Parliament urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to scrap the law. Owaisi claimed that the measure lacked provisions to protect Waqf assets and accused BJP of dishonesty. "This bill is designed to destroy Waqf Board and Waqf properties, not protect them," he asserted per a PTI report.

(With PTI inputs)