Sun Feb 09 19:04:51 UTC 2025: ## AIMIM’s Delhi showing impacts BJP’s victory
**New Delhi:** While the BJP secured a decisive victory in the recent Delhi Assembly elections, the performance of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) played a significant, albeit unexpected, role. Although the AIMIM failed to win any seats, its two candidates, both jailed in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots, garnered substantial votes, impacting the outcome in key constituencies.
In Okhla, the AIMIM candidate secured 39,558 votes, pushing the Congress to fourth place and significantly reducing the winning margin of the AAP incumbent, Amanatullah Khan. Similarly, in Mustafabad, a constituency with a large Muslim population, the AIMIM candidate received 33,474 votes. This split in opposition votes allowed the BJP’s Mohan Singh Bisht to secure a victory by a margin of 17,578 votes, despite the AAP candidate receiving a considerable number of votes.
Political analysts suggest that the AIMIM’s presence, despite not winning any seats, contributed to a division of opposition votes, ultimately benefiting the BJP. The party’s strategy, including campaigning by jailed candidates granted interim bail, appears to have influenced the election results in these key constituencies. The internal BJP dynamics in Mustafabad, with the placement of Mohan Singh Bisht after a previous defeat, further adds to the complexity of the election analysis.
First Piper 