Possibilities and challenges of Bihar alliance    ( Bihar)   

Patna: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Bihar state president Akhtarul Iman has expressed his desire to form an alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress-led Mahagathbandhan in the upcoming Bihar      ( Bihar)   assembly elections. He said that his party wants to prevent the division of votes and for this, he has sent an alliance proposal to RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav through his second-line leaders. Akhtarul Iman said, ‘We do not want to let the votes get divided, and so we have sent a proposal to Tejashwi Yadav to join the Mahagathbandhan through his second-line leaders. Now he has to take the decision.’

How did RJD stab ‘in the back’?

Akhtarul Iman also warned that if the Mahagathbandhan does not accept their proposal, AIMIM will start talks with other parties to form a third front. He accused RJD of ‘stabbing him in the back’, a reference to a major political development in 2022. In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, AIMIM performed brilliantly in the Seemanchal region, winning 5 seats. These included Amour, Kochadhaman, Jokihat, Baisi, and Bahadurganj. But in June 2022, AIMIM suffered a major setback when 4 of its 5 MLAs Muhammad Izhar Asfi (Kochadhaman), Shahnawaz Alam (Jokihat), Syed Ruknuddin Ahmed (Baisi), and Anzar Naimi (Bahadurganj) joined RJD. After this incident, RJD became the largest party in the Bihar Legislative Assembly. AIMIM’s performance in 2020 assembly elections
In the 2020 Bihar assembly elections, AIMIM performed strongly in the Muslim-dominated areas of Seemanchal. The party contested 20 seats and surprised everyone by winning 5 seats – Amour, Kochadhaman, Jokihat, Baisi, and Bahadurganj. This performance established AIMIM as an emerging force in Bihar politics, especially in the Seemanchal region, where it made a dent in RJD’s traditional Muslim-Yadav vote bank. However, the party’s strength weakened after 4 MLAs moved to RJD, and currently Akhtarul Iman (Amour) is the only MLA of AIMIM.

Alliance prospects and challenges
AIMIM has sent a proposal to join the Mahagathbandhan, but no formal response has been received from RJD and Congress yet. There is already tension within the Mahagathbandhan over seat sharing, and AIMIM’s entry could complicate it further. Some political experts believe that AIMIM’s joining the Mahagathbandhan could help consolidate Muslim votes, but it could affect the core Muslim vote bank of RJD and Congress. Akhtarul Iman made it clear that if the Mahagathbandhan rejects their proposal, AIMIM will talk to other parties to form a third front.