Congress pins blame on AIMIM yet again: 'BJP must thank Owaisi for their victory in Bihar'

Blaming AIMIM yet again for its poor performance in the Bihar assembly elections, now Congress leader and AICC general secretary Tariq Anwar has said that BJP must express their gratitude to Asaduddin Owaisi. The leader opined that it is because of Owaisi that BJP is able to form government in Bihar this year. Asserting that VCongress is against every religious extremism - "both Hindu and Muslim" - Anwar said that both complement each other. 

This comes a day after Anwar said that his party should accept the truth and introspect about their loss in Bihar. He has said that the entry of AIMIM in Bihar is not a good sign for the electoral future of the grand old party.

READ | NDA wins Bihar for Nitish Kumar; Tejashwi's RJD single largest; LJP dents JDU's number

Hectic parleys after elections

In Bihar Assembly elections 2020, Congress was able to win only 19 out of the 70 seats it contested as a part of seat-sharing with the RJD and the left parties in Mahagathbandhan. While CPIM-L has made a comeback in Bihar with 12 seats, Tejashwi Yadav - the CM face of Mahagathbandhan fell short of forming the government despite RJD becoming the single largest party and many have blamed it on Congress' poor performance.

Meanwhile, sources have confirmed that RJD has approached HAM and VIP to join Mahagathbandhan. When asked about the offer to Tejashwi, he said that the election this year was about change and it is for the other parties to decide if they want a change in the state. He did not rule out that RJD is trying to make a deal with smaller parties. 

As per numbers, the Mahagathbandhan needs 12 legislators to form the government in Bihar. Previously, as the mandate went against the RJD, hushed talks in capital Patna suggested that Tejashwi's party is trying to approach Asaduddin Owaisi - whose AIMIM won 5 seats, making major inroads. However, the chances of AIMIM supporting an alliance consisting of Congress seems unlikely as Owaisi has in his post-poll statements attacked the grand-old party for calling him a "vote-cutter" and questioned their ideological leanings and silence on issues like CAA.

READ | Congress Netas Want Introspection On Bihar Poll debacle; 'AIMIM's Entry Not A Good Sign'

The AIMIM factor

Asaduddinn Owaisi's AIMIM won 5 seats in Bihar out of the 20 he contested. However, when he was termed as B-team of BJP, he slammed the Congress and gave proof. He said that out of the 20 seats AIMIM contested, they won 5 while NDA and Mahagatbandhan had won 6 and 9 seats respectively. Owaisi pointed out that NDA's victory margin on the seats that it won- Sahebganj, Chhatarpur, Narpatganj, Pranpur, Barari, and Raniganj - was more than the votes secured by his party. Thus, NDA would have won from the aforesaid constituencies even if the AIMIM candidate was not in the fray, he explained.  

READ | Uma Bharti Heaps Praise On 'good Boy' Tejashwi; Makes Sharp Attack On Lalu's 'jungle Raj'

Bihar Election Result 2020

The Bihar assembly elections results were declared around midnight on November 10-November 11, with the ruling coalition - NDA winning 125 in the 243-member assembly, against Mahagathbandhan's 110.  Even as the contest remained neck and neck throughout the day, RJD under the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav, became the single largest party with 75 seats, followed by BJP's 74. While Chirag Paswan's LJP won one seat, it made a major dent in JDU's tally that has come down to 43 from 71 in 2015. The biggest clincher is Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM winning 5 seats and CPI-ML  winning 12 seats. The other two left parties - CPI and CPI-M won two each. The other two alliance partners of NDA - HAM and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) won four seats each.

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