AIMIM to launch BMC poll campaign on Jan 1

Hyderabad-based All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Musalmeen will kick off its campaign for upcoming BMC elections with a rally at Nagpada in South Mumbai on Sunday in the presence of party chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
Owaisi's brother and party vice-president Akbaruddin Owaisi will also attend.
"The speeches to be delivered by both the leaders would be a launch of campaign of our party. Hundreds of Samajwadi Party workers are joining MIM from Govandi area which was known to be the bastion of SP," said Waris Pathan, party MLA from Byculla constituency in South Mumbai.
He said AIMIM will try to win maximum number of seats in the civic polls, due early next year, "as many areas including Byculla, Nagpada, Mumbai central, Govandi, Kurla, Andheri, Malad, Malvani, Jogeshwari have become our strongholds."

"People have faith in us as both the BJP and SP are two sides of the same coin," Pathan said.
MIM had earlier claimed that it would win 50 seats in the 227-member BMC, the country's richest civic body.
When contacted, Shiv Sena Industries Minister Subhash Desai said his party, ruling the civic body, was not worried with MIM's entry into poll fray "as MIM will split the vote bank of Congress and Samajwadi Party.