Wooed by all, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen is amused

Hyderabad: With the MIM deciding to keep its option open about supporting a party for the formation of the next government in Telangana, both the Congress and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti are taking its support for granted. Both parties have also claimed the support of a majority of Muslims, including local MIM leaders, in several constituencies that went to the polls on April 30.

“Garib ki biwi, sab ki bhabhi (a poor man’s wife is claimed as sister-in-law by everyone),” said party leader Asaduddin Owaisi, when asked for his reaction, adding, “We are happy to note that we are much sought after by the traditional parties who intend to benefit from our support, but in the Telangana polls, we did not support any party and we have been maintaining a neutral stand.”

A MIM source admitted that at a few places in Karimnagar, TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao had invited a few Majlis leaders to his meetings and had even claimed the support of the MIM. “It did happen with Congress leaders, too, but the fact was that as a party, we did not extend support. It might be that a few MIM leaders were present in some meetings based on their local compulsions to defeat TD-BJP candidates,” the source said.