UP Shock Loading For Asaduddin Owaisi? Sources Say Big Exit Upcoming

Asaduddin Owaisi's ambitious mission to shed AIMIM's 'vote-cutter' image and win seats in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls will face a crippling blow soon from his own national spokesperson. With elections in the politically vital state just months away, sources indicate that Syed Asim Waqar is all set to join the Congress -- another party vying for the state's significant Muslim vote bank.

Waqar is expected to join the Congress in Delhi on Wednesday, dealing a blow to Owaisi's AIMIM, where he has served for nearly a decade.

As the party's national spokesperson, he had gained considerable prominence within Uttar Pradesh's political circles. His jumping ship can potentially impact Owaisi's bid to win seats in UP.

Asim Waqar had been unhappy for some time with decisions linked to the UP unit of AIMIM. Before joining Owaisi's outfit, he spent 20 years in the Samajwadi Party.

Asim Waqar/Facebook

Also read: Congress, Samajwadi Party's Mixed Signals On Asaduddin Owaisi Deal For 2027 UP Poll

Sources said the president of the Congress Minority Cell and Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi played a key role in his planned move to the latter's party.

Asim Waqar has neither confirmed nor denied the reports of his defection plan. 

The Congress and the Samajwadi Party have an alliance in Uttar Pradesh. Although formal discussions between the two parties on seat sharing have not begun, inclusion of prominent figures will strengthen Congress' claim for more seats.

According to sources, Congress is also in contact with Kaushal Kishore, a former MP from the Mohanlalganj constituency and a former minister of state in the BJP-led Central government.

Asaduddin Owaisi's UP Ambition

Owaisi hasn't yet revealed how many seats in UP AIMIM will contest. He, however, asserted that the party will definitely fight the polls and win seats.

"Our party has not yet decided how many seats we will contest. We will definitely contest the elections, and if we perform better than before, it will soon become clear which seats we will contest, where, and what the number will be. Secondly, the party's organisation has become much stronger than before. An understanding has developed among the public that these false accusations against the AIMIM party, and the repeated propagation of such allegations, create an illusion that they (the NDA) are coming to power. They always invoke secularism, a secularism that has no connection with reality," he was quoted as saying by news agency IANS last month.

"Now, the public has decided to strengthen their political leadership, and the idea of AIMIM as an alternative has become stronger. The Bihar elections have further strengthened this thinking...Many MLAs from the AIMIM party will be successful in the upcoming Assembly elections," he added.