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New Delhi, Sept 2: In a boost to the Congress ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, senior All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader and chief spokesperson Syed Aseem Waqar on Wednesday joined the party, and pointed to an “understanding” between the Asaduddin Owaisi-led outfit and the BJP.
Waqar joined the Congress at the party headquarters here in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Congress in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam, state Congress president Ajay Rai, and Congress Minority Department chairman and Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi.
Welcoming Waqar into the party, Congress leaders said senior leaders from different political parties were joining the organisation, inspired by the movements being led by Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on issues concerning education, employment, students, women and deprived sections of society.
Gautam said Rahul Gandhi was strongly raising the voice of every section of society and cautioning the government on various issues in the national interest. He said people were joining Congress to strengthen the hands of party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.
The senior Congress leader said Waqar was an “articulate speaker” whose ideas were aligned with Gandhi’s vision for the country.
Expressing confidence about the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Rai said the party’s flag would fly in every village and street across the state.
Pratapgarhi said the Congress was being strengthened with new members joining Rahul Gandhi’s “Mohabbat Ki Dukaan” (shop of love) campaign and claimed that several more prominent faces would join the party in the coming days.
After joining Congress, Waqar stated that AIMIM, despite claiming to oppose the BJP, was working on the ground in a manner that harmed parties which were directly taking on the BJP.
He also recalled that a similar political arrangement had been witnessed in West Bengal and referred to former Trinamool Congress leader Humayun Kabir, pointing out that Kabir had formed a party and spoken of building the Babri Masjid to help the BJP.
Waqar further noted that Kabir had admitted during a sting operation to receiving Rs 1,100 crore from the BJP. He said those committed to establishing a secular and public-oriented government in the country should join the Congress, asserting that it was the only party fighting the BJP directly on the ground.
