MIM

Muslims deserve reservations, Owaisi says

January 8, 2015 by Nasheman

Beed: The former Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra kept the Muslim community backward and it deserves reservations, MIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi has said.

The Sachar committee and other similar panels had recommended reservations for the Muslim community, he pointed out.

“The Congress-NCP government kept the community backward and denied it benefit of reservations,” Owaisi alleged.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief was addressing an election rally here on Tuesday.

As per the Articles 15 and 16 of Indian Constitution, a community which has remained backward should be given reservations, he said.

The Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad clarified that his party is not against the reservation to the Marathas, but Muslims too should get their right.

After the Bombay high court stayed the Congress-NCP government’s decision to offer quotas to Marathas and Muslims last year, the new BJP-Shiv Sena government got passed a Bill in the state Assembly in December 2014 which gave reservation to Marathas in education and government jobs, but left out the Muslims.

Owaisi also said that many Muslims are languishing in prisons without trial and even charge sheets are not filed for years together in such cases.

Muslims account for only four per cent of Maharashtra police force and three to four per cent of government servants, therefore, reservation is necessary for them, he said.

Journalist-turned MIM legislator Imtiyaz Jaleel said that Muslims were more backward than Dalits and for the last 65 years, they have been treated only as vote bank.

“Now, the NCP and Congress are scared as we (MIM) have entered the fray. We will contest the municipal elections,” Jaleel said.

(PTI)

Embracing Islam will be real home coming: Asaduddin Owaisi

January 5, 2015 by Nasheman

Hyderabad: Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that Islam is the ‘real home’ of all religions in the world and hence the real ‘home coming’ will be when people of other religions embrace it.

The MP from Hyderabad said that every child is born as a Muslim but his parents convert him to other religions. “The real home coming will be when people of other religions embrace Islam,” he said, addressing a public meeting on the eve of ‘Milad-un-Nabi’ Saturday night.

The MIM leader said the Sangh Parivar was running a campaign in the name of ‘home coming’.

“Muslims are being allured with Rs.5 lakh and Christians with Rs.2 lakh to convert. Only five lakh? What a joke. Muslims can’t leave Islam even if you give them the wealth of the world,” he said, amid loud cheers from thousands of people at Darussalam, the MIM headquarters.

The Muslim leader invited people of all faiths to accept Islam but made it clear that there is no compulsion. “You come back. We can’t give money but we guarantee you success in this world and thereafter,” said the MP.

Stating that India is the country of ‘our father’, Owaisi said Adam who is the father of entire humanity landed in India when he came to Earth. He criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence on ‘ghar wapsi’.

“Have you ever thought what will happen to the country. How foreign exchange will come to India. You announced that you will bring 100 billion dollars. Will this bring FDI (foreign direct investment),” he asked.

The MIM president decried attempts to link terrorism with Islam. He said terrorism can be eliminated from Earth only by following the teachings of Islam. “Islam came to end terrorism and repression. Allah sent Prophet Mohammad as Rehmat-ul-lil Alameen (mercy to the world),” he said.

Demanding action against Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Hafiz Saeed for killing innocents, Owaisi said the enemies of the country are enemies of Muslims. He said MIM has political differences with the Bharatiya Janata Party but supports any action against the enemies of the country and has made this stand clear in parliament.

(IANS)

Muslim quota row: MIM to launch stir on January 6

January 2, 2015 by Nasheman

Mumbai: Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) will launch an agitation against Maharashtra government’s decision to scrap job reservations for Muslims.

The party will hold a rally in Beed on January 6, to be addressed by party President Asaduddin Owaisi. MIM MLA from Aurangabad, Imtiaz Jaleel and Byculla MLA Waris Pahan will also be addressing the gathering which will be attended by party workers from across the state.

The party has asked all MIM units to submit a memorandum to respective district collectors or tehsildars on January 6 to register their protest against the state government’s indifferent attitude towards reservation for Muslims, Jaleel said.

“The state government has brought a bill in the Nagpur state legislative assembly session in December that will enable 16 per cent reservations for Marathas while refusing to bring an ordinance for continuing reservations for Muslims,” he said.

The matter related to reservations for Muslims and Marathas is scheduled to be heard in the Bombay High Court, after the Supreme Court refused to entertain the petition of the state government.

(PTI)

Muslims are Indians by choice, not only by birth: Asaduddin Owaisi in Bhatkal

December 30, 2014 by Nasheman

Bhatkal: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has said that those who suspect Indian Muslims’ patriotism should know that Muslims are the only community who are Indians not only by birth but also by choice.

Addressing the valedictory ceremony of the centenary celebration of the Majlis-e-Islah Wa Tanzeem, a leading social organization in Bhatkal, warned the communal forces against maligning the image of this coastal town.

Criticizing the ‘Ghar Wapsi’ re-conversion drive taken up by Hindu outfits, he said, “Instead of talking about Ghar Wapsi (‘homecoming’), let them talk about ‘black money Wapsi’. This is the land where Prophet Adam stepped his feet. We are from this land. Our faith is not so weak that we will listen to the Ghar Wapsi propaganda.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to bring black money within a month after coming to power, and depositing Rs 15 lac in every person’s bank account. What happened to that promise now?” he questioned.

Asserting that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism and terrorist activities, he said, “I condemn the global attitude of relating violence with Islam. There is no relationship between ISIS, the terrorist organization and Islam. ISIS was born in the US.

“There are thousands of Dalit and Muslim prisoners languishing in jails for no fault of theirs. They should be released. Innocent Muslim youth should be acquited of the accusations of violence,” he opined.

He further said, “The police had warned that peace would be disrupted if I came to Bhatkal. Bhatkal is a part of India and I will keep coming here. Nobody can silence me.

“Those who call me communal should answer a few questions first. What is the reason for Muslims in India to remain backward and poor? There are Muslims in India who live under abject poverty. There are 42 percent of poor Muslims in Gujarat, 52.7 percent in Assam and 22.4 percent in Karnataka. Who is responsible for this? We are not vote bank machines. This is our land too, and we have every right to run the country and strive for its prosperity. Our children too should get education and reach the moon. Do not play politics with education. Give us scholarships and better facilities, so that we also get quality education. Do not deprive us of our fundamental rights,” Owaisi urged.

Owaisi congratulated Majlis-e-Islah Wa Tanzeem on completing 100 years and appreciated the service it has been rendering to society, especially with relief aids during natural calamities like the Kashmir floods.

Convener of the centenary celebrations committee Abdulla Damudi compered the programme while Tanzeem secretary Mohideen Altaf Kharuri proposed the vote of thanks.

Markazi Jamatul Muslimeen chief qazi Muhammed Iqbal Mullah Nadvi, Khalifa Jamath qazi Maulana Khwaja Mohideen Akrami Nadvi, Tanzeem president Muzammil Qaziya, vice-president S M Syed Parvez and others were present.

Why Muslims are unhappy with SP in UP

December 1, 2014 by Nasheman

The Modi magic which seems to have cut across caste and even religious lines to some extent is making the Samajwadi Party edgy.

by Piyush Srivastava, Daily O

The Samajwadi Party has become increasingly edgy over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attempts to woo Muslim voters in the state. On paper of course, it seems very unlikely that the BJP will win a fraction of Muslim voters in Uttar Pradesh. But the Modi magic which seems to have cut across caste and even religious lines to some extent is making the SP edgy, fearing that it will lose its Muslim votebank in the upcoming Assembly elections in 2017.

The SP has also been hurt by allegations made by certain prominent members of the Muslim community, who claim that there is really no difference between the party and other Hindu parties, as the former practises “soft Hindutva” and the other i.e the BJP “hard Hindutava”. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) party that has recently announced that it will contest the next Assembly election — a first time for the party in the state — has left SP leaders edgy, as it will divide the Muslim votebank.

The SP’s fears are grounded in some reality. Though the MIM won only two seats in Maharashtra, the party took away a significant number of votes that would have gone to the SP or the Congress. This is ideal for the BJP, as sources say, the recent communal tensions in the state, along with the Modi factor, will give the party Hindu votes. And if some Muslim votes come on board so much the better.

Prime Minister Modi has already begun wooing Muslims. During his trip to Varanasi earlier in November, Modi laid the foundation stone for the Trade Facilitation Centre (TFC) which was meant for members of Julaha (Muslim weaver caste) community. While doing so, the PM took a swipe at the SP, saying he wanted the Rs 147-crore TFC in the heart of the city so that the weavers could reach there without any hassle. But the state government has not cooperated with the Centre.

The fact that Modi’s words hit home were seen by the sharp rejoinder from the SP. Senior leaders such as Azam Khan tried to stir up passions by saying, “The TFC was planned in Lalpur because not a single member of the community resides there. In fact, the BJP wants the minorities to migrate to Pakistan.”

But a jittery SP was still not confident that Azam’s move was enough to convince the community. So Rajendra Chaudhary, party spokesperson of the UP unit, too jumped into the fray by reminding the Julahas about the work done for them by Mulayam government in the past and the packages presented to them by Akhilesh government.

“Mulayam has given a package of Rs 5,032 crore for weavers’ rehabilitation. Akhilesh has given special package to them. A loan of Rs 8.06 crore was given to 7,520 weavers,” Chaudhary told reporters. He added that Mulayam was in the process of developing Azamgarh, his Parliamentary constituency in a better maner than Modi’s Varanasi. The SP hopes that such promises and sops will keep this crucial votebank with them.

But MIM’s entry is hurting the party. Already, controversial MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi asked the state government: “Where is the Muslim reservation that was promised during the last Assembly elections? (the SP in its election mainfesto had promised reservations for Muslims in the police and other government jobs). What action has been taken to ensure justice to Muslims who suffered as a community in Muzaffarnagar? These are questions that the ruling party will have to answer,” he said. The fact that Owaisi who refuses to categorise himself as a “Muslim candidate” and has also said that Dalits and Muslims must come together on common causes, is another blow for the SP, Bahujan Samaj Party and an already decimated Congress in UP. The Congress and the SP have so far hit back claiming that the MIM has a tacit understanding with the RSS in the state. But such allegations prove weak as the MIM was a part of the previous UPA government. Clearly, then these parties, especially the SP, will have to rehone their strategies if they retain power in the next elections.

Asaduddin Owaisi stresses on political empowerment of Muslims, says vote bank myth dead

November 12, 2014 by Nasheman

Hyderabad/INN: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday stressed the need for increase in political representation of Muslim community in the elected bodies across the country.

Speaking in the ‘Meet the press’ programme organised by the Telangana Union of Working Journalists (TUWJ) at Basheerbagh Press Club here, Asaduddin Owaisi said that the community’s development depends on its representation in the law making bodies. However, he said that the representation has to be real. “The benami leadership of Muslims will not help the community in any way,” he said while referring to Muzaffarnagar riots which occurred despite Uttar Pradesh having more than 60 Muslim MLAs.

The MIM President also described the term Muslim vote bank as a myth and said that same myth got shattered in the recently held parliamentary elections in the country. “There has not been the Muslim vote bank rather a Majority vote bank in India from the first elections in the year 1956,” he said.

Asaduddin Owaisi also announced that his party would contest Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka. However, the party is yet to decided on its participation in Delhi and Jharkhand Assembly elections. When asked about the GHMC elections, he said it was too early to comment on the same as the corporation was still under the process of undertaking delimitation of divisions.

The MIM chief criticised a section of media for targeting the MIM on its entry into Maharashtra politics. “Some people are unhappy with the MIM winning two Assembly seats in Maharashtra. “When I am participating in the democratic process no one has the right to call me anti national.” He said defamation notices have been sent to the political leaders of Maharashtra who made such statements against him and his party.

Stating that the slogan of “Jai Bheem, Jai Meem” would have a long-term impact, he said that the MIM would hard to unite Dalits and Muslims to ensure the political empowerment of both the communities.

Asaduddin Owaisi accused the BJP of having dual stand on communalism. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making statements defending the patriotism of Muslims, other BJP leaders are raking up communal tension by raising non-existing issues like Love Jihad. He also objected to the appointment of Prasar Bharti Director Surya Prakash and said he does not fulfill the criteria of Prasar Bharti charter.

The MIM president reiterated that his party was against the Haj subsidy and instead asked the Centre to release the subsidy amount for the education and employment of Muslim girls. He praised the TRS Government for enhancing the budget for minorities’ welfare in Telangana and hoped that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao would review all the schemes quarterly. Stating that his party was not against the Metro Rail Project, he suggested the government and Metro Rail authorities to take a different route in Old City. He said it would be ideal if the Metro Rail is taken from Bahadurpura and Kalapather to Falaknuma.

Praniti Shinde must apologise for her ban MIM statement, says Asaduddin Owaisi

November 7, 2014 by Nasheman

Mumbai: All India Majlis-e-Itteh-adul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi has strongly condemned the remarks made by Praniti Shinde, the Congress MLA from Solapur Central, over banning his party. He threatened to file a defamation case against the daughter of former Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, if she did not apologise for dubbing the MIM a “treasonous political party.”

Mr. Owaisi said in Hyderabad that the MIM’s success in the recent Maharashtra Assembly election had led to her outburst.

“Why is she [Praniti Shinde] calling for a ban on us now? Nobody spoke of a ban when we supported the Congress from 2004 to 2012. It was we who bailed out the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh in 2011 when the main opposition party, the Telugu Desam Party, tabled a no-confidence motion,” said Mr. Owaisi adding that Ms. Shinde’s controversial statement smacked of Congress hypocrisy.

On Wednesday, Ms Praniti had demanded a ban on the MIM saying that the party was working against the country’s interest.

“The MIM is inimical to the country’s interests. They have never tried to project their ideas on a democratic platform. I am firmly for the proscription of this party,” she said, speaking in Solapur district.

Ms. Shinde, the MLA for Solapur City Central, further said that the speeches of MIM leaders ought to be carefully studied and police action initiated against them.

“The MIM has fundamentally been against India rather than any section of the population and harboured plans for subversion,” she remarked.

“Our decision to contest the Maharashtra election and our success in Solapur has thoroughly shaken Ms. Shinde. Solapur is not the private property of the Shindes. Any party can contest elections in India anywhere,” Mr. Owaisi said.

Why alarm over Majlis win in Maharashtra is unwarranted

October 27, 2014 by Nasheman

by Advocate S. Warsi and Faisal Ahmed Khan

Even though the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has succeeded in winning only two seats in the just concluded Maharashtra assembly polls, it has won the hearts of lakhs of people and is now able to walk hand in hand with the minorities and people from backward communities.

The party has not only demonstrated its ability to contest elections outside its stronghold of Hyderabad and Telangana/Andhra Pradesh but also proved that the Muslim voter is no longer a puppet of the “secular” parties. The Muslim voter, overwhelmingly young, is no longer prepared to bear the burden of secularism all by himself.

The General election results early this year have had a direct impact on the assembly elections in which the Muslim voters saw secularism at its weakest with the majority of voters openly polling in the name of religion!

After the Maharashtra verdict, some people who supported reasoned saying as to how long the Muslim voter will carry the burden of secularism on his shoulders and allow himself to be taken for a ride time and again.

After all, Muslims have all these years voted for the parties of Sonia Gandhi, Mayawati, Mulayam, Ajit Singh, Lalu Yadav, Communists and Mamata and elected them and their party candidates in the name of Hindu-Muslim unity and secularism.

In the general elections this year, the Hindu voters in north India chose the hardline Hindutva candidates who openly spewed venom against Muslims amidst unprecedented communal polarization. Under the circumstances, why is it surprising if Muslim voters choose to vote for candidates who are seen as protecting their interests?

Many in the community feel that the so-called secular parties have largely ignored their problems all these years and in fact instead of solving them they’ve muddled them up. Now in this scenario if they witness someone from their own ranks came forward to take up their problems and concerns then there should be no objection from any quarter.

MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi, who has been a very successful parliamentarian and a good orator, completely demolished Samajwadi Party and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena of Raj Thackeray in Maharashtra and performed well. His party’s success deserves to be acknowledged and seen in its right perspective, instead of being portrayed as a mere “Muslim party”.

Many people have chosen to see the Majlis success in Maharashtra polls as a threat to secularism and even the country’s integrity. What do they think about the role of the BJP unabashedly devoted to the Hindus, Kerala Congress of Christians or the BSP which is dedicated to the welfare of the Dalits?

This is not to argue that the Majlis should and would be an answer to these parties catering to a particular community or group. However, until and unless all sections of the society get their due and their representatives in the parliament to convey their viewpoint, no democracy can truly claim to be one.

Some suggest that the MIM is nothing but the Shiv Sena of Indian Muslims. But this argument doesn’t fly. Shiv Sena’s existence has always been on the ground of promoting regional chauvinism and hatred towards non-Maharashtrians and openly indulging in violence at each and every opportunity.

This hasn’t been the case with the MIM. Shiv Sainiks have been found guilty in a number of communal riots and violence all over the country. The Justice Sri Krishna Commission held them responsible for the 1992-93 Bombay riots in which more than 900 people died.

So comparing the MIM’s championing of the minority rights with the violent politics of Shiv Sena isn’t fair. Of course, Akbaruddin Owaisi’s controversial speeches do not help and cannot be defended by anyone. But then, as the MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi has repeatedly asked, why Togadias and Adityanaths roam free in spite of their continuous hate speeches and venomous propaganda? In the wake of Muzaffarnagar carnage, BJP president Amit Shah openly asked Hindu voters to take revenge for ‘love jihad’ and other crimes.

Given the disappointment with the Congress, Samajwadi Party and others and lack of trust in the other available options, it’s hardly surprising if Muslims voted for the parties like the MIM.

Since the BJP came into power, there has been a hysterical hate campaign against the Muslims in the name of ‘love jihad’ and other imagined conspiracies. This has been visible almost in every state. Inflammatory speech has become an everyday job and the RSS has been aggressively enforcing “Hindu” identity and agenda.

No wonder Muslims are forced to turn to their own parties. If they continue to vote in support of a particular party, then the worth and strength of this party with even a handful MLA’s increases. Hopefully, there would be more representatives of Muslims in the parliament who could raise and voice their opinion freely.

However, the party articulating minority concerns and interests could and should work for the betterment of the society as a whole. So the initial MIM success in Maharashtra needs to be seen from this perspective and viewed as a good development for democracy. After all, it is the right of everyone in a democracy to choose their representatives and voice their opinion.

Advocate S. Warsi and Faisal Ahmed Khan are lawyers based in New Delhi. Views expressed here are personal.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) debuts with victory in Maharashtra, will now focus on UP, West Bengal & other states

October 20, 2014 by Nasheman

Mumbai: The All India Majlis-e-Ittihadul Muslimeen, scored a stunning victory in Maharashtra by winning two seats, marking a relatively assured debut in the Maharashtra assembly elections.

In its first attempt to expand outside Hyderabad and have a pan-India presence, the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party bagged the prestigious Byculla seat in Mumbai and the Aurangabad Central and East seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.

Waris Yusuf Pathan became the party’s first member of the legislative assembly (MLA) in the state when he was declared the winner in Byculla, over rivals Madhu Chavan of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and gangster Arun Gawli’s daughter Geeta Gawli of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena (ABS).

However, the big gain for the AIMIM came in the Aurangabad Central seat, where its candidate, former NDTV journalist Imtiaz Jaleel, defeated sitting Shiv Sena MLA Pradeep Jaiswal by 19,982 votes.

In neighbouring Aurangabad East, the AIMIM’s Abdul Gaffar Quadri led for most of the counting, opening up a lead of nearly 30,000 votes before being upstaged by the BJP’s Atul Save by a slim margin of 4,260 votes. Quadri, too, managed an impressive tally of 60,268 votes.

Aurangabad was a part of Hyderabad state during the Nizam’s rule.

In Nanded South, in the initial rounds of counting, the party’s Moin Mukhtar led the BJP’s Dilip Kandkurte by 4,000 votes, but Kandkurte managed to bounce back. By the end of counting, Mukhtar was relegated to third place, finishing with 34,590 votes. Hemant Patil of the Shiv Sena won the seat. Likewise, in Parbhani, in a riveting battle for second place, the AIMIM’s Syed Khalad Syad Sahebjan finished ahead of the BJP’s Anandrao Bharose by nearly 3,000 votes. Shiv Sena candidate Rahul Patil won the seat.

The AIMIM also managed creditable third place finishes in Nanded North and the four Mumbai-Thane constituencies of Kurla, Mumbra-Kalwa, Versova and Mumbadevi. And, for a party known to represent Muslims, the AIMIM fielded a Hindu candidate in Avinash Barve from Kurla.

Scores of supporters of the party celebrated the victory at Darussalam, the party headquarters in Mumbai. A stream of workers and supporters were seen congratulating the MIM chief and his younger brother Akbaruddin Owaisi, who aggressively campaigned in Mumbai and parts of Marathwada.

The MIM leaders felt it was a big achievement for the party considering that it did not have any organisational structure in the state and majority of its candidates were political novices.

“It is a good beginning. We will now build on this victory and expand the party to other states,” a senior party leader told the media. He said the results reflect the disillusionment of Muslims with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.

“The Congress-NCP alliance was in power for 15 years but did nothing for the development of Muslims. It even failed to protect the community. In fact, Muslim youths were arrested and tortured after blasts in Malegaon in which right-wing fundamentalist groups were involved,” the leader said.

He pointed out that the condition of Muslims, who constitute over 13 percent of the state’s population, went from bad to worse during the last 15 years. “The Muslims were looking for an alternative so that their voice can be heard in the legislature and the MIM provided them the platform,” said another leader.

Focus on other states

Claiming that the poll campaign in Maharashtra witnessed Dalit-Muslim unity, the MP said the party will spread this message to Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and other states.

MIM leader in Telangana assembly, Akbaruddin Owaisi termed the party’s victory Maharashtra as historic. Akbaruddin, who led the poll campaign, said it was for the first time that a party went to another state and won two seats in a short span of 15 days.

He said despite the hurdles created in MIM’s campaign by the police, people backed the party. He assured the people that MIM will work hard to live up to their expectations by raising their voice in the legislature.

BJP wins power on own in Haryana; to rule Maharashtra

October 20, 2014 by Nasheman

Mumbai/Chandigarh: The BJP Sunday created history in Haryana by getting a clear majority on its own for the first time and said that it would form the government in Maharashtra too where it finished the single largest group in a hung assembly but has been offered support by the NCP.

The Congress was humiliated in both Haryana and Maharashtra which it had been ruling for two and three consecutive terms respectively.

For the first time, the Bharatiya Janata Party got a clear mandate in Haryana, winning 47 seats in the 90-member assembly with a 33.2 percent vote share.

The BJP Parliamentary Party Board met in New Delhi Sunday evening to discuss chief minister probables for Haryana and Maharashtra. The party later announced it would send senior leaders Rajnath Singh to Maharashtra and Venkaiah Naidu to Haryana to take a decision on the chief ministerial candidates.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, general secretary J.P. Nadda said he would accompany Rajnath Singh.

On the offer of support from the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, Nadda said no call has been taken yet.

The names doing rounds in Haryana include Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh activist Manohar Lal Khattar, state BJP president Ram Bilas Sharma and party spokesperson Abhimanyu. Other names were of leaders, who did not contest, including union ministers Sushma Swaraj, Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal. Congressman-turned-BJP leader Birender Singh is also in the running.

Senior party sources told IANS that the new government could be sworn in before Diwali this week. The Hindu festival of lights falls on Oct 23.

In Maharashtra, the BJP won 122 seats in the 288-member assembly, falling well short of the 145 seats required for a simple majority. Its ally Rashtriya Samaj Paksha won one.

With the NCP, which won 41 seats, offering BJP “outside support”, leaving the runner up and former ally Shiv Sena high and dry, BJP president Amit Shah said in New Delhi that his party would “form the next government” in the state.

NCP leader Praful Patel said Maharashtra needed stability and so his party was ready to prop up a BJP government.

The Shiv Sena, which ended up with 63 seats, had earlier said it was ready to make up with the BJP, a sentiment shared by some of the latter’s leaders, including L.K. Advani, one of those who was not happy with the decision to dump its ally of 25 long years after a row over seat sharing ahead of elections.

The Congress, which, with the NCP, ruled Maharashtra for 15 years until their alliance collapsed before the elections, finished third with 42 seats.

Shiv Sena chief Udhav Thackeray said that nobody from the BJP has approached his party for support, and his party would not approach it with any proposal.

“If (the BJP) they make any proposal, we shall consider it,” he said.

Earlier, Maharashtra BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said that while no discussions had taken place with the Sena, “if the need arises, we expect our friends to support us”, while Sena leader Anil Desai added that the acrimony between the parties was history.

Amit Shah said the victory in Haryana and the near victory in Maharashtra proved that the “Modi wave” which catapulted the BJP to power in the Lok Sabha battle was still intact.

Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena cut a sorry figure and is likely to end up with just three seats. Independents and smaller parties could have 19 members. The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) made an impressive debut winning two seats while losing three by narrow margins in its first attempt to expand its base outside Hyderabad.

The NCP blamed the Congress for the Maharashtra verdict. Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan accepted responsibility for the Congress rout.

Outgoing Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda also accepted defeat and submitted his resignation to Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki to pave way for formation of the new government.

The BJP’s win in Haryana is a big achievement considering it had won only four seats in the 2009 assembly polls.

Kailash Vijayvargiya, in charge of the BJP’s party affairs in Haryana, said: “People of Haryana wanted a change. Our party cadres and leaders worked very hard. The credit for our success has to go to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.”

The Congress won only 15 seats, down from its tally of 40 last time. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) ended with 19 seats, down from 31 seats in 2009.

“This is the Janadesh (public mandate). I accept this and wish well for the incoming government,” said Hooda, who has at been at the helm since March 2005.

“The result is a surprise for us (INLD). We will review where we went wrong. People have given their mandate to the BJP. We will extend our support to the government for Haryana’s progress,” INLD leader Abhay Chautala told media after his party’s defeat.

A record 76.54 percent of Haryana’s 1.63 crore electorate voted in the assembly polls this time, while around 64 percent of the 8.35 crore electorate turned out in Maharashtra.