Asaduddin Owaisi, the India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief, on Sunday widened his party’s political outreach in Azamgarh in the poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, where he called for “greater political independence among minority communities”.Targeting both, the SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and his ally the Congress, Owaisi urged voters from the minority communities, to move beyond traditional political loyalties.During his address, the AIMIM chief spoke about Muslim political representation, the legacy of national leaders and the law governing the appointment of election commissioners.He argued that minority communities should build their own political strength instead of relying on figures associated with traditional parties.“We no longer need a Gandhi or a Nehru; we need our own leaders… No one speaks about our suffering. Yet today, the police detain someone and order them not to stage a protest for a year… I see people from within our own ranks saying, ‘Oh Muslims! Support them; the likes of Nehru and Gandhi will emerge from among them’… That is the difference between them and Owaisi. They say, ‘Support them’. I say, ‘You become the leader’. We are not slaves to anyone; we will not simply run after someone just because they claim to be the next Nehru or Gandhi… We no longer need a Gandhi or a Nehru; we need our own leaders,” he said.Since Independence, minority voters have frequently backed the Congress and regional parties such as the SP, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Owaisi argued that such electoral support had not resulted in proportionate representation in positions of power.Owaisi takes swipe at CongressTaking a potshot at the opposition, Owaisi referred to the historical relationship between Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.He used the episode to question whether established parties genuinely empower minority leaders or primarily seek their communities’ electoral support.“Nehru wrote that if we removed the Maulana [Abul Kalam Azad], it would cause damage. So, it became evident that only the Muslim vote was desired. Gandhi was saying, ‘Do not appoint Azad; appoint some other Muslim instead’… What Gandhi had suggested back then is exactly what Akhilesh has put into practice today…” he said.Owaisi presented these developments as an example of what he described as the tokenisation of minority representation by mainstream political parties. He linked his criticism to Akhilesh Yadav’s distribution of election tickets, alleging that the SP had failed to encourage genuinely independent Muslim leadership.Targets Yogi’s ’80:20′ political narrativeEarlier in the day, Owaisi also criticised Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s frequently cited “80% versus 20%” political formulation, arguing that economic inequality deserved greater attention.
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Countering the chief minister’s framing, the AIMIM leader described the divide as one between “99% and 1%”, shifting the focus towards disparities between the economically disadvantaged majority and a small, affluent section.Citing data from the Uttar Pradesh department of economics and statistics for 2024–25, Owaisi said Azamgarh ranked fourth among districts in the state in terms of the number of people living in poverty.“The state’s department of economics and Statistics acknowledges that Azamgarh ranks fourth among the districts in Uttar Pradesh with the highest number of poor people. This is what the UP government’s data for 2024–25 reveals, yet the chief minister speaks of an 80% vs. 20% divide,” the AIMIM chief said.
