Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam hopes for minority votes, but Owaisi may spoil the party

CHENNAI: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and its leader MK Stalin have been on a high with the possibility of support from the state's Muslim vote bank in the upcoming assembly polls. The DMK's alliance with the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (MMK), the two major Muslim political parties, has made them optimistic.

But the announcement by Asaddudin Owaisi that his party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AiMIM) will contest elections on 25 seats may turn out to be a concern for the DMK. The AIMIM had contested elections to Tamil Nadu assembly in 2016 and had garnered 10,000 votes from the Vanniyambadi constituency.

IUML national president Khader Mohideen told IANS: "Owaisi will not make much of a difference. His brand of divisive politics will not work in either Tamil Nadu or Kerala."

Political observers believe Owaisi and his brand of politics works among the Urdu-speaking Muslims of Tamil Nadu who are more in number in Northern Tamil Nadu.

MMK leader Jawaharullah, while speaking to IANS, said: "I don't think that Owaisi and his brand of politics have any role to play in Tamil Nadu. He may get some votes which could split the Muslim votes thus helping the AIADMK-BJP combine and we are educating Muslims about this menace." (IANS)

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