Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM not to contest Karnataka Assembly Elections, suggest reports

Asaduddin Owaisi’s party All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has decided to not contest the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 reportedly.

The report comes days after the party had announced that it will contest in the Karnataka polls.

As per reports, the party feels that its participation could hamper the vote bank of the ‘secular parties’ contesting the elections and can give a negative effect to the votes of the contesting parties.

The Karnataka polls are scheduled to be held in a single-phase on May 12, while the counting will take place on May 15.

The Hyderabad MP had earlier said that the country is fed up with both the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, and its time for a third front to come up. Owaisi said, “..people of the country are fed up with BJP governance and Congress is not a viable option, neither it can become one.”

The BJP, last week, had announced its first list of 72 candidates for the Karnataka Assembly Elections. The party Central Election Committee, in a statement, said, “The central election committee of the party has decided the first 72 names for the ensuing Karnataka legislative assembly elections.”

Also Read: Owaisi-led AIMIM to contest Karnataka Assembly Elections

Meanwhile, the BJP had staged a protest against Congress in the state for a statement by the Congress state unit working president Dinesh Gundu Rao against the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The BJP alleged Rao’s remarks as inciting. Rao had called Adityanath ‘a disgrace to Indian politics’.