Is AIMIM a vote-cutter or a marginal player in Maharashtra? What the data shows

Asaduddin Owaisi’s party played a significant role in determining the results of 13 closely fought Assembly seats in 2019. Out of these, seven seats were won by the BJP and its partners, while the Congress-NCP alliance secured victory in the remaining six seats.n.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), led by Asaduddin Owaisi, is mainly dedicated to advocating for Muslim interests. In Maharashtra’s political scenario, the party holds significance, yet it frequently faces allegations from opposing parties of fragmenting the votes, inadvertently benefiting the BJP.

Electoral data, however, indicates that the party’s influence on undermining the electoral chances of these non-BJP parties might not be as substantial as commonly perceived.

The AIMIM participated in the 2019 Assembly elections by competing for 44 seats, managing to secure victory in two seats and obtaining 1.34% of the overall votes. This performance was a significant advancement compared to 2014 when the party vied for 22 seats, won two, and received just 0.93% of the total votes. Although the AIMIM tried to position itself as a challenger to the dominance of supposedly secular parties in the Muslim community during elections, the statistics indicate that its impact remains somewhat constrained.

In 2019, AIMIM participated in electoral battles across 44 constituencies, emerging victorious in Malegaon and Dhule while securing the runner-up position in Aurangabad Central, Aurangabad East, Byculla, and Solapur City Central. The party’s impact resonated in an additional 13 constituencies, where its vote share exceeded the winning margin. Out of these 13 seats, BJP and its affiliated parties clinched victory in seven, while the remaining six were secured by the Congress-NCP alliance.