MIM eyes Delhi polls, Shoaib Iqbal hints at 'secular alliance'

Former Janata Dal (United) MLA Shoaib Iqbal, who is expected to be roped in by the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) for the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls, on Thursday hinted that various like-minded parties would form a secular front to stop the BJP from coming to power.

The Asaduddin Owaisi-led MIM, which won two seats in Maharashtra, is said to be holding talks with Iqbal, the Matia Mahal strongman, to establish its base in Delhi.

"We want a new format to be prepared in Delhi as the people here are in trouble and the way they have been betrayed a weird atmosphere has been created and there is tension," said Iqbal.

"We have talked to the MIM also. And as they have performed well in Mumbai and Hyderabad, so we want the same in Delhi also," he added.

Iqbal emphasized that various like-minded parties should together fight the elections in Delhi.

"We will prepare a secular front and we don't have any problem with the like-minded parties joining us," he said.

Iqbal also informed that they are holding talks with West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee for a similar alliance.

"We will not let the BJP rule the capital. We want to avoid communal violence and give good administration. We want to move forward together with all secular parties," he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on its part said that it was still unaware of the latest political developments in this regard.

"It is totally the affair of the political parties, what they do is totally their entitlement, we are unaware of any such development, as and when the whole thing develops we will surely take a call ," said BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra.

Moreover, Congress leader Rashid Alvi said that every political party has the right to take its stand on elections.