All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday dismissed claims of a “BJP storm” after the Bharatiya Janata Party...

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday dismissed claims of a “BJP storm” after the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged the second-largest party, with 48 seats, in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation polls, the Hindustan Times reported. Owaisi said his party would continue to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“Where is the storm?” asked Owaisi. “Had there been a storm, BJP wouldn’t have lost in Maharashtra MLC [Legislative Council] election. BJP had said they would conduct surgical strike in old city. But they couldn’t do anything in my area. We did democratic strike. We contested in 51 seats and won 44. Think what would have happened had AIMIM contested in 80 seats.”
The AIMIM chief added that his party had contested in 60 seats and won 44 in 2016, making this year’s strike rate better.
Owaisi expressed confidence that the residents of Telangana would stop the BJP from expanding its footprints in the state. Owaisi also seemed to praise the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, calling it a “formidable” political party. “It [TRS] represents the regional sentiment of Telangana,” Owaisi said. “I am sure [Telangana Chief Minister] K Chandrashekar Rao will review the party’s performance in these elections. I am sure he will be a big challenge for the BJP.”
The TRS has the...