New Delhi, November 10: The Congress, which has fared poorest among the four major parties in the Bihar assembly elections 2020, lashed out at the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). The party accused the Asaduddin Owaisi-led outfit of indirectly aiding the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by dividing the Muslim electorate in the Kosi-Seemanchal belt. Bihar Assembly Elections Results 2020 Live News Updates.
Congress' Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury blamed smaller parties including the AIMIM for spoiling the Mahagathbandhan's vote share. If the "votes had not been cut", the grand alliance would had comfortably went passed the halfway majority-mark, he said.
"Owaisi's party has played a role in cutting our votes, Owaisi has been used by the BJP to target us," the Congress MP said, further suggesting that the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) was similarly used by the BJP to "cut down" Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United).
The trends so far have suggested that the LJP played a role in the defeat of JD(U) candidates in at least eight constituencies. The AIMIM, on the other hand, has won one seat and is leading in four others. All the five vidhan segments were earlier bagged by the Mahagathbandhan.
The seat wrested by AIMIM is Amour, where party candidate Akhtarul Iman won with 55 percent vote share. The four other seats from where the party is leading are: Kochadhaman, Baisi, Jokihat and Bahadurganj.
The overall trends of Bihar so far indicate a neck-and-neck battle, with the NDA leading in 120 constituencies, and the Mahagathbandhan ahead in 115. Others, including AIMIM and independent candidates, are ahead in 8 assembly seats. Two-third of the total votes have been counted, and the Election Commission expects the final results to be declared before the midnight.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 10, 2020 07:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).