The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), a party historically rooted in the politics of Hyderabad, has carved out a small yet significant political space in Bihar over the last two Assembly elections. In both 2020 and 2025, the party secured five seats in the Seemanchal region, a Muslim-majority belt with deep socio-economic distress.

This repeat performance is noteworthy, especially when viewed against the party’s chequered historical origins and its perception as a sectarian political force. AIMIM’s repeated success in Bihar, as some analysts would want us to believe, is a sign of sectarian drift, but it could also be a symptom of unmet political and developmental aspirations in Seemanchal.

The party’s historical origins cast a shadow, but its contemporary appeal may lie in offering representation to a community that’s feeling politically overlooked. In a diverse democracy like India, identity politics is inevitable. The challenge is ensuring it remains constitutional, inclusive, and anchored in development rather than division. AIMIM’s trajectory in Bihar is a test case of that balance.

To understand the meaning of this pattern, one must revisit AIMIM’s founding moment. Originally established as a political vehicle for the Muslim elite and Razakar militia in the princely state of Hyderabad, the party stood firmly against the integration of Hyderabad into the Indian........

© News18