Samajwadi Party (SP) state president and it's lone legislator in Maharashtra Abu Asim Azmi denies charges that the party's presence in the Lok Sabha fray will cut into the "secular" vote. While Muslims voted for the Congress due to majboori (lack of options), the SP wanted to emerge as an electoral option for the community in the state, he said. He charged that the Congress, which has joined hands with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Maharashtra, like in Uttar Pradesh, had repeatedly spurned offers for an alliance with the SP. He also accused the Owaisi brothers-led All India Majlis E Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) of being used by the BJP to polarise votes. Edited excerpts: Once sworn foes, the SP and BSP have decided to bury the hatchet... (Former UP chief minister and SP patriarch) Mulayam Singh Yadav had once tied-up with the BSP and gained power. Later the parties fell apart. Now, Akhilesh Yadav is making an attempt to bury the hatchet. We feel 90 per cent of the people in UP is with us. (The SP and BSP) contesting separately would have helped the BJP. Congress-NCP leaders claim the SP alliance will cut into the secular vote in the state. We do not want to divide the secular vote. When I contested the assembly elections for the first time from Bhiwandi in 2004, Congress transferred its votes to Shiv Sena, enabling its victory. Who had cut into secular votes then? In 2009, I won from two seats, Mankhurd-Shivajinagar and Bhiwandi, and decided to retain the former and informed the then chief minister Ashok Chavan about it. However, Congress fielded a minority candidate from Bhiwandi in the by-polls, helping Sena's victory. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, our alliance with Congress snapped at the twelfth hour after their party high-command had put its foot down. We have always supported Congress, but they have not returned the favour. SP was trying to ally with the Congress-NCP now. How did the plans fall through? We had sought one seat in Maharashtra, but were offered Mumbai North, where the (then) Mumbai Congress president (Sanjay Nirupam), who had represented it in the past, was unwilling to contest. I asked for anyone seat from Malegaon, Bhiwandi or Nanded, and even offered to put up a Congress leader on the SP symbol. However, this was rebuffed. Eventually, we sought only three assembly seats, namely, Mankhurd-Shivajinagar, Byculla and Bhiwandi, this too was denied. There is no difference between Congress and BJP. Had the Congress acted against the guilty in the 1992-93 Mumbai riots, the 2002 Gujarat riots would not have taken place. Both parties have denied quotas to Muslims. However, the community votes for them due to majboori (inevitability). We want to finish this by emerging as an option. Much of the SP's base in Maharashtra has seemed to have eroded because of the AIMIM. This is true. Much of it is for sentimental reasons. The SP is a secular party. The AIMIM was formed before 1947 but was restricted to Hyderabad. Now, it is trying to expand elsewhere. The AIMIM is being used by the BJP to polarise votes. But, this will not continue for long. Despite its two-decade-long presence in Maharashtra, the SP has been unable to shed its image of being a party of Muslims and North Indians. Why? I feel our party must take on good local leaders and nominate them to the Rajya Sabha from states like Uttar Pradesh. This will increase our base here.

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