Patna, June 7 Four of the five AIMIM MLAs in Bihar are reportedly in touch with the RJD for a merger.
However, AIMIM leader Akhtarul Imam said: "Being a small party in Bihar, the bigger parties are contacting the MLAs of our party since the result of 2020 Assembly election. However, they did not go anywhere."
Sources have said that 4 MLAs are in contact with the RJD, which extended offers to join to them. The AIMIM MLAs are also apprehensive about their future. They knew what had happened in the recently Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh where the party had contested more than 90 seats and failed to win even a single seat there.
The AIMIM is seen as the BJP's "B Team" to cut the votes of parties having secular ideology. They cut into the RJD's votes in more than 20 seats in Bihar during the 2020 polls and five managed to win. Keeping this in view, the AIMIM was enthusiastic about Uttar Pradesh assembly election but voters, basically the Muslims, avoided it.
The MLAs of AIMIM knew that the voters of Bihar may do the same in the 2025 Assembly elections, and hence, they want to merge with RJD well before it.
If that happens, the RJD will become the single largest party in the state. It currently has 76 MLAs, and may also take help of 19 Congress MLAs and 16 Left MLAs.
After the merger of 3 MLAs of VIP with it, the BJP has 77 MLAs.
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