AIMIM Emerges Strong in Bihar, Retains All Five Seemanchal Seats; Other Smaller Parties Face Wipeout

Friday’s Bihar Assembly election results pushed most parties outside the NDA and Mahagathbandhan into near-irrelevance.
But one notable exception stood out — the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which retained all five seats it had previously won in 2020.

AIMIM’s Stronghold in Seemanchal Stays Firm

Despite four of its MLAs defecting to the Rashtriya Janata Dal before the polls, the AIMIM held its ground in northeastern Bihar’s Seemanchal region, an area with a high Muslim population.

The party won from:

• Bahadurganj (Kishanganj)
• Kochadhaman (Kishanganj)
• Jokihat (Araria)
• Amour (Purnea)
• Baisi (Purnea)

AIMIM state president Akhtarul Iman was re-elected from Amour.

AIMIM Influences Close Contests

In at least four seats — Pranpur, Araria, Kasba, and Keoti — AIMIM’s vote share exceeded the margin of victory.
This indicates that AIMIM likely played a decisive role in shaping the outcomes.

Among these:

• BJP, LJP (Ram Vilas), JDU, and Congress were leading or winning one each.
• The Congress was on track to lose Kasba (Purnea) to Chirag Paswan’s LJP (RV).

Vote Share Rises for AIMIM

AIMIM increased its vote share from 1.24% in 2020 to 1.87% this time.
Its alliance partners — RLJP (Pashupati Paras), Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), and Apni Janata Party — failed to open their accounts.

Adding to the Congress’s frustration, the AIMIM took a public swipe, saying:

“Congress has inflicted heavy losses on us by vote-splitting; otherwise we were set to win 15+ seats.”

With the Congress’s tally projected to fall to 6 — its lowest since 2010, the AIMIM now stands as the primary political representative of Muslims in Seemanchal.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had conducted an extensive Seemanchal Nyay Yatra in September to mobilise support in the region.

Why AIMIM Gained Ground

The party’s rise rested on two key themes:

1. Neglect of Seemanchal by successive governments
2. Under-representation of Muslims by both major alliances, despite their demographic weight

These issues appear to have resonated strongly with voters.

Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Fails to Make a Mark

Prashant Kishor’s much-publicised Jan Suraaj failed to win a single seat in its debut election.
Despite strong urban visibility and a significant social media push, the party’s vote share was too small to reflect on the Election Commission tally.

A Jan Suraaj spokesperson expressed mixed feelings, saying the party’s core issues — employment, migration, education, and clean governance — had at least entered mainstream political discourse.