Hyderabad: Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has registered significant gains in Maharashtra’s civic elections winning 125 wards across 13 municipal corporations, a sharp jump from the 56 wards it secured in the previous municipal elections in the state. This is the strongest-ever performance by the Hyderabad-based party in Maharashtra. In several civic bodies, the party bested established parties like the Samajwadi Party, Nationalist Congress Party and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. The AIMIM contested selectively, fielding candidates in 24 of the 29 municipal corporations that went to the polls on Jan 15. Despite internal dissent and the resignation of some senior leaders over ticket distribution decisions taken by party’s Maharashtra unit president and former MP Syed Imtiaz Jaleel, the party mounted an aggressive campaign. Owaisi and party Telangana assembly floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi addressed multiple rallies and public meetings across key urban centres, consolidating the party’s visibility and outreach. PxxIn Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, considered an AIMIM stronghold, the party won 33 of the 115 wards, emerging as the second largest force after the BJP. AIMIM Maharashtra president Imtiyaz Jaleel told TOI that both factions of the Shiv Sena trailed the AIMIM in several wards, positioning the party as the principal opposition in the civic body.Beyond Sambhajinagar, the AIMIM made gains across multiple cities — 21 wards in Malegaon, 14 in Nanded, 12 in Amravati, 10 in Dhulia, eight in Solapur, seven in Nagpur, two each in Ahmednagar and Jalna, and one each in Parbhani and Chandrapur.Notably, the party also secured eight wards in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, underlining its growing footprint in the state’s largest civic body.AIMIM leader Khairunisa Akbar Husain, who won from ward No. 145 in Mumbai, said: “The victory is of the people, not mine alone… We will work on all the issues that we had raised.”Jaleel attributed the results to the party’s work among oppressed sections and increasing public confidence. He said the AIMIM’s support base had expanded beyond Muslims, with Hindus, including SC and ST voters, backing AIMIM candidates, a trend reflected in the victory of several non-Muslim candidates on the party’s ticket.He cited Gulmandi ward in Sambhajinagar, a traditional Shiv Sena-BJP bastion, where two of the four winning candidates were from the AIMIM.Potential kingmakerPolitical analysts said the results indicate the AIMIM has consolidated its vote share in Marathwada and parts of western Maharashtra, while also making early inroads into Mumbai and Thane. In minority-dominated pockets, the party displaced candidates of the Congress and NCP (Sharad Pawar), altering local electoral equations.With wins or leads in 125 wards, the AIMIM has emerged as a potential kingmaker in several municipal corporations where neither the ruling Mahayuti nor the opposition MVA has secured a clear majority. The party leadership is expected to decide whether to extend support or remain in opposition in the coming days.
