Owaisi slams Mahagathbandhan CM face over his 'extremist' remarks: 'Tejashwi speaking language of Pakistan'

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi

As Bihar heads into its 2025 Assembly polls -- with voting in two phases on Thursday and November 11, and results on November 14 -- political tempers are soaring.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi lashed out at Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav after the latter allegedly branded him an “extremist.” Speaking at a rally in Kishanganj, Owaisi declared, “He calls me an ‘extremist’ because I follow my religion with pride.”

Owaisi’s party later posted an audio clip on X claiming it contained Yadav’s remarks, alongside Owaisi’s response in which he said, “Tejashwi is speaking the language of Pakistan.” The AIMIM post further alleged that Yadav’s words were an insult “to the entire people of Seemanchal,” claiming he made the comment based on Owaisi’s appearance -- “the cap on his head and the beard on his face.”

The exchange followed failed seat-sharing negotiations between Owaisi’s party and Yadav’s Mahagathbandhan alliance. AIMIM had sought six seats, but talks reportedly fell through. In retaliation, Owaisi announced his party would contest 100 of Bihar’s 243 constituencies independently.

“It is now common knowledge… I wrote to Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav expressing willingness for a tie-up. But no response came,” Owaisi said, insisting AIMIM would form a “third front” in a state long dominated by Nitish Kumar’s JD(U)-BJP combine and the RJD-Congress bloc.

सुनो @yadavtejashwi ! अगर रसूल (ﷺ) का उम्मती होना चरमपंथी है, तो मुझे फ़ख़्र है कि मैं अपने रसूल (ﷺ) का उम्मती हूँ।pic.twitter.com/DpbddrBKLL

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) November 3, 2025

AIMIM’s Bihar chief, Akhtarul Iman, asserted that both major alliances -- the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan -- would soon “realise our presence.”

In 2020, Owaisi’s party had fought 20 seats alongside the BSP and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLSP, winning five constituencies in Muslim-majority Seemanchal districts like Purnea, Katihar, Kishanganj, and Araria. Four of those MLAs later defected to the RJD, while one passed away.

Owaisi has repeatedly argued that Muslims -- who make up about 17.7 percent of Bihar’s population, according to the 2022 caste survey -- remain underrepresented in state politics. “Yadav, Paswan, Thakur -- every community has its own leader, but the 19 per cent Muslims in Bihar have no leader,” he said earlier this month.

Last week, he also questioned the Mahagathbandhan over not naming a muslim candidate for the Deputy Chief Minister face ahead of the upcoming polls. Owaisi said that if a son (referring to VIP chief Vikas Sahani) of the Malla community can become the Deputy Chief Minister, then a son from the muslim community can become Chief Minister and even Prime Minister in this nation.

Addressing the election rally in Bihar's Kishanganj area, Owaisi said, "Sitting next to Tejashwi Yadav, Mukesh Bhai of the VIP Party, confident in his community's history, declared that the Malla community is with Tejashwi. The Malla community represents 3% of Bihar's population. He declared that if they gain power, he will become the Deputy CM... If a Malla's son will become the Deputy Chief Minister, what will the 17% minority community in Bihar do? Are they only to spread 'Dari ' (carpet)?"

"If a Malla's son can become the Deputy Chief Minister, then Mohammed's son can also become the Prime Minister or Chief Minister. Nothing can stop us from achieving our goals. Remember, the more you dream, the more you trust in Allah's will, and the more you strive along the way, the more you will see the clearer the path will become," he added.

Sahani, who heads the Vikasheel Insaan Party, has been named as the Deputy CM nominee from the Mahagathbandhan. The Mallah, Nishad, and Sahni communities constitute a significant vote bank of the Vikassheel Insaan Party.