Samajwadi Party (SP) state president and it's lone legislator in Maharashtra Abu Asim Azmi denies charges that the party's presence in the Lok Sabha fray will cut into the "secular" vote.
While Muslims voted for the Congress due to majboori (lack of options), the SP wanted to emerge as an electoral option for the community in the state, he said. He charged that the Congress, which has joined hands with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Maharashtra, like in Uttar Pradesh, had repeatedly spurned offers for an alliance with the SP. He also accused the Owaisi brothers-led All India Majlis E Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) of being used by the BJP to polarise votes.