UP Polls Could Impact Owaisi’s Ambitions to Expand AIMIM Influence
AIMIM national spokesperson Syed Asim Waqar joined Congress on September 2.
He joined the party in Lucknow in the presence of Ajay Rai.
Waqar had been associated with AIMIM for nearly a decade .
He previously spent around 20 years with the Samajwadi Party .
Waqar said he wanted to focus on defeating the BJP .
Congress won two seats in the 2022 UP Assembly elections.
AIMIM contested 95 seats in 2022 but won none .
Asaduddin Owaisi has expressed confidence about AIMIM’s prospects in the upcoming election.
AIMIM leader Syed Asim Waqar joins Congress ahead of Uttar Pradesh elections
Lucknow: In a significant political development ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) national spokesperson Syed Asim Waqar joined the Congress on Wednesday, September 2.
Waqar’s move is being viewed as a setback for the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM , particularly because he has been one of the party’s prominent faces in Uttar Pradesh. With the state set to go to the polls next year, his decision could add to the political challenges facing AIMIM as it attempts to expand its presence in the state.
Waqar joined the Congress in Lucknow in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai . His move comes after he reportedly became unhappy with some of the decisions taken by the AIMIM leadership.
Explaining his decision, Waqar said he had become uncomfortable with what he described as a difference between AIMIM’s stated opposition to the BJP and its political activity on the ground.
He argued that if the objective is genuinely to defeat the BJP, political forces opposed to it should focus on fighting the BJP rather than competing with one another.
“People who love the country want to uproot and throw out the BJP’s anti-national government from power,” Waqar said, stressing his belief that a secular and people-focused government should be established.
Waqar said that while he had heard discussions within AIMIM about opposing the BJP and its ideology, he felt that the party often ended up contesting against Congress, the Samajwadi Party or other parties that were also opposed to the BJP.
That experience, he said, ultimately influenced his decision to join Congress.
His departure is notable because Waqar has been associated with AIMIM for nearly 10 years and has served as one of its recognisable political voices in Uttar Pradesh. Before joining AIMIM, he spent around 20 years with the Samajwadi Party (SP) .
The political journey is particularly interesting because both the Congress and SP are part of the broader INDIA bloc , although their electoral strategies and alliances in Uttar Pradesh can vary.
Waqar’s move also comes at a time when AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has been expressing confidence about the party’s prospects in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh election.
In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections , Congress contested 399 seats but won only two. AIMIM contested 95 seats but failed to win any constituency.
Despite that performance, Owaisi has indicated that AIMIM intends to remain active in the state and has spoken confidently about improving the party’s electoral performance. However, the party has not yet announced how many seats it plans to contest in the next election.
For AIMIM, Waqar’s exit could therefore be more than the loss of a spokesperson. It comes at a time when the party is attempting to build a stronger organisational and electoral base in a politically crucial state.
For Congress, meanwhile, bringing a prominent former AIMIM face into its fold could provide an opportunity to strengthen its outreach among voters and present itself as a broader alternative to the BJP.
The impact of Waqar’s decision will ultimately depend on whether his move translates into support at the grassroots level. Uttar Pradesh’s electoral politics is highly competitive, and individual leaders can influence political conversations, but winning elections requires a strong organisation, local candidates and sustained voter support.
With the Assembly election approaching, Waqar’s switch is likely to attract further attention as political parties prepare for another closely watched contest in India’s most populous state.