Lucknow: Asaduddin Owaisi’s campaign for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections suffered a setback Wednesday as Asim Waqar, a prominent television face and national spokesperson of his All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), joined the Congress, ending his association with the party that began in 2017.
During the joining ceremony, Waqar hit out at AIMIM, accusing it of functioning as the “B-team” of the BJP. “I cannot support those who are working as the B-team of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). I had joined AIMIM thinking that it was a secular party fighting against the BJP. But gradually, I realised that the party was fighting not so much against the BJP as against its political opponents,” Waqar said.
He added that the Congress is fighting to save democracy. “Anyone who works against the Congress is effectively helping the BJP. I am with Rahul Gandhi. Only those who stand with Rahul Gandhi can fight the BJP.”
Taking a swipe at party leader Owaisi, Waqar said alliances involving AIMIM had harmed its political partners. “Whichever party Owaisi has allied with has suffered losses. Kumaraswamy in Karnataka, KCR in Telangana and Prakash Ambedkar in Maharashtra are examples of this.”
A Lucknow resident, Waqar had emerged as a familiar face in Uttar Pradesh politics through his frequent television appearances as AIMIM’s national spokesperson. His usual jibe at television anchors went viral on social media in the past. His induction into the Congress was facilitated by the party’s minority department chief and Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi, sources told ThePrint.
Nand, neither Asaduddin Owaisi nor any senior functionary have commented yet on Waqar’s move.
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From SP to AIMIM to Congress
Waqar had spent nearly two decades with the Samajwadi Party before joining AIMIM, making his decision to join the Congress particularly significant. Instead of returning to the Samajwadi Party, he has opted to join the Congress, despite his long association with the Uttar Pradesh-based party.
According to sources, Waqar had been unhappy for some time over decisions taken by the AIMIM’s Uttar Pradesh unit. His discontent had intensified in recent months, eventually leading to speculation about his move to the Congress.
His exit comes at a significant time for AIMIM in Uttar Pradesh. Owaisi has been actively preparing his party for the upcoming Assembly elections and has repeatedly said AIMIM will contest the polls with its full strength.
The party, however has not yet finalised the number of seats it will contest. Owaisi has maintained that AIMIM’s organisational base in the state has strengthened and that more voters are beginning to view it as an alternative political force.
Owaisi had said last month that AIMIM would contest the elections, and that a better performance would help the party identify constituencies where it could strengthen its claim in the future. He has also sought to counter the perception of AIMIM as a ‘vote-cutting’ party, instead projecting it as an independent political alternative.
For the past six months, Owaisi has stepped up his political activities in Uttar Pradesh and is likely working towards an alliance with Chandrashekhar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party (ASP), although neither party has formally announced the alliance yet. But as per sources both parties leadership will meet soon to finalise the alliance deal as they are waiting for some more small parties to come along.
AIMIM performance in UP
In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, AIMIM contested 95 of the state’s 403 seats, with most of its candidates concentrated in western Uttar Pradesh. The party failed to win a single seat and secured around 0.4 per cent of the total vote.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Owaisi extended support to Pallavi Patel’s Apna Dal (Kamerawadi). As part of the arrangement, AIMIM did not field candidates under its own symbol.
Muslim voters form a significant part of Uttar Pradesh’s electoral landscape, making the community a crucial constituency for the Congress, Samajwadi Party and AIMIM, all of which are seeking to consolidate and expand their support among Muslim voters. After Waqar’s exit, AIMIM is likely to promote other young Muslim faces before the 2027 polls.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
Also Read: Why Owaisi chose Matera, a stronghold of Akhilesh’s SP, to launch AIMIM campaign for 2027 UP polls