AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said the results of the Maharashtra civil polls were "very encouraging" for his party.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said on Thursday the results of the Maharashtra civil polls were "very encouraging" for his party as it won a number of seats and also opened account in the all-important Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
"For us, it has been encouraging because we won 11 seats in Solapur, 10 in Amravati, two in Mumbra and three in Mumbai. Nagpur..I am yet to get information. But it has been very good. It has been very encouraging for us. We have opened an account in Mumbai, we have opened an account in Mumbra (in Thane Municipal Corporation)," the Hyderabad Lok Sabha member said.
"We have done very well in Solapur, Amravati. In Akola, we have won two or three seats. So, this is very encouraging, and I thank the people for making our candidates victorious and reposing confidence. Wherever we could not do better, like in Pune we could not open (our account), we will definitely identify our weakness and take it forward", he said.
On BJP's big gains in the elections, Owaisi, in an obvious reference to Congress which put up a poor show in the polls, said at least now secular parties should stop blaming him for splitting secular votes. "Secular parties should do some introspection and see why are they losing elections after elections to BJP and Shiv Sena. Now the time has come for them to leave their arrogance and do self-introspection. There is no point blaming MIM every time. You (Congress) are losing your vote. You have lost every where. Now, it's the time for them to do reality check, introspection. Show humbleness instead of being arrogant even in defeat," Owaisi said.
"From day one there has been no truth in this obnoxious allegation (that his party splits secular votes). Look at the results. There is definitely something wrong with them (Congress). That's why they are losing elections after elections," he added.
Earlier in the day, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley too mocked the grand old party. He said, "But what about the Congress? In Odisha, it got squeezed out of the contest. In Maharashtra, it got pushed to third or fourth place in most cities. It is not even a major contestant in States like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. It is struggling to survive by becoming the tail-ender in an alliance in these States. Many in the Samajwadi Party are wondering if it was worth leaving 103 seats for the Congress in Uttar Pradesh. Is the Congress willing for an introspection as to why this is happening?"
Apart from Mumbai, the municipal corporations which went to polls in Maharashtra on February 21 were Thane, Ulhasnagar, Nashik, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Solapur, Akola, Amravati and Nagpur. About 56% voters had exercised their franchise across ten civic bodies, including the cash-rich BMC, which recorded a 55% turnout.
(With PTI inputs)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Asaduddin Owaisi RNA")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}