Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Maharashtra) [India], January 8 (ANI): All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi condemned the recent attack on the party’s Maharashtra unit president Imtiaz Jaleel amid the ongoing election campaigns for the upcoming local body polls, and said that people of Aurangabad will respond by voting for his party.
“This cowardly act has been done by those who can clearly see their defeat. The people of this ward and Aurangabad will respond by pressing the ‘Kite’ symbol. We have asked the administration to unmask those who are behind this,” Owaisi told reporters here.
Earlier in the day, Owaisi held a roadshow from Azad Chowk to Buddhi Lane in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and met locals while campaigning for candidates his party has fielded in the upcoming local body polls.
Maharashtra AIMIM chief Imtiaz Jaleel on Wednesday alleged that his party’s rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar was attacked by unidentified individuals, leaving several supporters injured.
“We had permission for our rally. The police were present, but 20-25 goons arrived there with weapons and attacked our people. They attacked our vehicles. Some people were injured. They thought that by resorting to such hooliganism, we would stop our rallies. We completed that rally. We are fighting this election peacefully, according to the rights given to us in a democracy,” Jaleel said.
Jaleel alleged that the violence was an attempt to disrupt the election process and warned that while the party would remain peaceful if an FIR is registered and action is taken, it would decide its next course of action if authorities fail to act.
He further accused leaders aligned with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being uneasy over AIMIM’s growing influence, claiming they fear the party could emerge as the largest force in the civic polls.
The State Election Commission in Maharashtra has announced elections to 29 municipal corporations across the state, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). Polling will be held on January 15, with counting scheduled for January 16. (ANI)