Aurangabad: Sillod MLA Abdul Sattar, who recently quit the Congress, has decided to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha polls from Aurangabad in a bid to curb the growing clout of the MIM in the region.A section of Congress leaders on Friday organised a rally in Aurangabad to discuss fielding Sattar, who quit the Congress after the party nominated MLC Subash Zambad from the Aurangbad constituency. Ramkrishna Baba Patil, former Congress MP from Aurangabad, also attended the rally.While addressing the rally, Sattar said he had decided to contest from Aurangabad to defeat Shiv Sena leader Chandrakant Khaire. However, the MIM MLA Imtiaz Jaleel was contesting to defeat him.“Earlier, he (Jaleel) agreed to support me and I even talked to their Hyderabad leadership. But, when Jaleel realised that I could win, he changed his mind and went to Hyderabad and got a nod for himself. What has MIM done for the city. People know well who can defeat Sena in the city” Sattar said.Interestingly, Sattar, whose assembly segment falls in Jalna Lok Sabha constituency represented by state BJP chief Raosaheb Danve, has chosen to contest from Aurangabad. Sources indicated that it was a strategy to neutralize MIM in Aurangabad, where it has a sizeable following.A close confidante of MPCC chief Ashok Chavan, Sattar declared his decision to contest the election from Aurangabad seat. He had recommended other candidates including Harshvardhan Jadhav, the son-in-law of Danve. Jadhav, Shiv Sena MLA from Kannad, has filed his papers from Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat as a nominee of his own outfit Shivswarajya Bahujan Paksh.Sattar convened a meeting of his supporters in Aurangabad on Friday to seek their opinion on whether he should contest. Incidentally, Sattar’s picture along with other leaders still adorns the party’s office Gandhi Bhavan in the city, though he quit the party.The party sources pointed out that if the MIM’s loses in Aurangabad, it would lose its sheen and the Congress might re-merge as an option to the minority again. They pointed out that in 1988, the Muslim League had emerged victorious in first civic polls eventually getting the deputy mayor’s position. Soon, the Muslim league lost its sheen gradually and its office-bearers toed their line with the Congress.This time around, however, they pointed out that Sattar intends to kill two birds with one stone. Neutralize MIM, which was giving sleepless nights to his mentor Ashok Chavan in Nanded through the Bahujan Vanchit Aghadi and tame it in Aurangabad before the assembly election.

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