HYDERABAD: In what could be seen as an attempt to kill two birds with one stone, the AIMIM roped in Bengali supporters of the party and allowed them a few minutes to express their admiration for the party during their final public meeting ahead of the GHMC elections on December 1. Earlier, party chief Asaduddin Owaisi had said that it will contest Assembly elections in West Bengal in 2021.
AIMIM, through the years, has always tried to woo the considerable Bengali population in Old City. During the Assembly elections and the General elections, the party had held community meetings with Bengalis. In the GHMC elections, various wards such as Ghansi Bazar have a strong Bengali electorate, and through the years they have largely sided with the party.
However, this may be the first time that members of the community were given the party’s official platform to speak. The importance of the same was not lost on the Bengali community member who spoke at the rally. “In all our years of residing in the city, we have never dreamt of getting such a big platform and voicing our opinions,” he said.
Sources said the party may very well use this camaraderie with the community in Old City to woo voters in West Bengal ahead of the Assembly elections there in 2021, by showing that AIMIM takes care of the Bengali population in Old City.
Speaking at the rally, the person said, “We have been here for the last 60-70 years. And we came here not just to live in the city but also to develop it. Through the years, the Bengali community has shed their blood for the same. However, be it BJP, TRS or TDP, no one helped us before. They used to take what they wanted from us but would forget us later. However, for the first time in our lives, we have MIM members taking care of us. Please vote for the party on December 1.”