Sameer Waliullah accuses Owaisi of diverting Muslims from ‘vote chori’ fight

Hyderabad: Congress leader Mohammed Waliullah Sameer on Tuesday, October 27, accused AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi of diverting Muslim voters from Rahul Gandhi’s campaign against alleged “vote chori”. He said Owaisi’s recent speeches in Azamgarh and Rampur shifted attention towards Muslim leadership rather than protecting voters’ names on electoral rolls.

Owaisi had urged Muslims to stop depending on Gandhi-Nehru or Yadav leadership and develop their own political leadership. In response, Sameer questioned the priority of that debate. “If your name itself disappears from the voter list, what meaning does any debate over leadership have? The first battle is to protect the vote,” he said.

Sameer Waliullah cites 2022 Uttar Pradesh election results

Sameer argued that AIMIM’s performance in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections also deserved scrutiny. He cited several constituencies where AIMIM’s vote tally exceeded the BJP’s winning margin over the Samajwadi Party or its allies.

In Nakur, the BJP won by 155 votes, while AIMIM polled 3,591. In Kursi, the winning margin stood at 520 votes against AIMIM’s 8,541. The BJP won Bijnor by 1,445 votes, while AIMIM secured 2,290.

Similarly, the BJP took Sultanpur by 1,388 votes, while AIMIM polled 5,251. In Aurai, the BJP’s winning margin was 1,647 votes, compared with AIMIM’s tally of 2,190.

“ These figures are why the ‘vote katwa’ question cannot simply be dismissed as political propaganda,” Sameer said. However, he acknowledged that AIMIM voters would not necessarily have supported the SP or another Opposition party. He argued that AIMIM’s vote share still invited questions when it exceeded the BJP’s victory margin in closely fought contests.

Sameer said AIMIM had every democratic right to contest elections. However, he maintained that voters could examine its strategy ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. He questioned who benefits when parties opposed to the BJP divide votes in close contests.

The Congress leader identified two separate concerns for Muslim voters. The first, he said, was alleged manipulation or removal of names from electoral rolls. The second was vote division at the polling booth. He urged voters to remain alert to both risks.

Sameer added that Rahul Gandhi’s campaign addressed a national democratic issue rather than the concerns of one community. If electoral rolls wrongly exclude or manipulate voters’ names, he said, people across communities could suffer. He accused Owaisi of narrowing the debate to Muslim leadership.

He also distinguished greater Muslim representation from political isolation. Muslims need more MPs, MLAs, ministers, mayors, councillors and party office-bearers, he said. Yet, he argued, weakening broader alliances or dividing votes in close elections would not necessarily achieve that goal.

“A strong Muslim leadership should be able to shape wider democratic politics, not operate within a separate political enclosure,” Sameer said.

Questioning AIMIM’s organisational structure, he asked why the party lacked a separate Telangana state president despite maintaining its headquarters in Hyderabad. He noted that the party had state-level organisational structures elsewhere. “Independence must begin inside the party before it is preached outside,” he said.

Sameer also alleged that AIMIM used contradictory electoral messages across states. In Hyderabad, he said, the party warned Muslim voters that vote division could benefit the BJP. In Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other states, he claimed, it encouraged voters to move away from the Congress, SP, RJD and other Opposition parties, even in close contests.

“Owaisi cannot preach consolidation in Hyderabad and fragmentation elsewhere without being questioned,” he said.

Sameer called on Owaisi to clarify whether his Uttar Pradesh campaign primarily aimed to defeat the BJP or expand AIMIM at the expense of other Opposition parties. He said Muslim voters needed both political representation and protection of their voting rights. However, he argued that representation would lose meaning without the vote. He reiterated that defeating alleged “vote chori” should take priority over another round of “vote katwa” politics.