Owaisi's Congress conundrum: AIMIM goes solo in Bihar, supports Cong's candidate in Jubilee Hills bypoll
Owaisi has said his party has decided to back the Congress candidate in Jubilee Hills as the outcome would not make or break the incumbent government.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has made it official that his party will support Congress candidate Naveen Yadav in the Jubilee Hills Assembly bypoll.

The Jubilee Hills Assembly bypoll, which is scheduled for November 11, will see a triangular contest between Congress's Naveen Yadav, BRS candidate Maganti Sunitha and BJP's Lankala Deepak Reddy.
Also Read: AIMIM releases list of 25 candidates for Bihar assembly elections
Announcing the reason behind the support, the AIMIM chief said his party has decided to back the Congress candidate as the outcome would not make or break the incumbent government.
“Our appeal to the people of Jubilee Hills is that the government will not change with the outcome of the polls. We appeal to nearly four lakh voters who have supported BRS for the last ten years. Now, I request you to vote for Naveen Yadav, who is young and can bring development to Jubilee Hills,” Owaisi told PTI.
The bypoll in the Hyderabad seat was necessitated by the death of BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath in June this year, due to a heart attack.
AIMIM's Bihar conundrum
While AIMIM's support to Congress Jubilee Hills' candidate might be a win-win situation for the latter, Owaisi's party has failed to secure an alliance with the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar.
Also Read: Bihar: Owaisi targets RJD, says AIMIM to contest from four seats in Mithilanchal
After announcing going solo and naming 25 candidates for the 243-seat Bihar assembly, AIMIM is facing attacks from all sides, including the Congress. The party won 5 seats in the last assembly elections in 2020.
Congress leader Udit Raj hit out at AIMIM, asking if the party is forming the government in Bihar.
Taking an indirect jibe at AIMIM, Udit Raj said, "There are some people from the Muslim community who are helping the BJP by becoming its B team for their personal gains...Are they (AIMIM) forming the government in Bihar? But are contesting the elections so that BJP forms the government in Bihar."
Owaisi has maintained that his party wrote to RJD president Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi Yadav, stating that it was willing to contest the polls as part of the INDIA bloc this time. However, he claimed that there was no response from the RJD.
In the list of 25 candidates, AIMIM has named nominees in the Seemanchal region, the state's flood-prone north-eastern part, which has a high percentage of Muslim population. The party had contested 19 seats last time, all from Seemanchal.