Why Owaisi’s pitch finds few takers in Muslim-majority Kishanganj

The mood in the Muslim-majority Kishanganj district of Bihar is clear – people want peace, prosperity, and development, not religious polarisation or communal disturbance.

Zakir Hussain, a middle-aged man in a light brown kurta-payjama and skull cap, sitting with a group of friends at a busy crossing in Chanamana Thipi Jhari under Pothia block, about 45 km from Kishanganj town, is quite clear about this.

“We will vote for the Congress as we want a guarantee of peace," Hussain told The Federal. "There is no question of supporting Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) because he always talks in ways that benefit the BJP. We don’t want to fall prey to polarisation politics.”

Is Owaisi losing ground?

Zakir’s words reflect a warning for the AIMIM, which is struggling to repeat its 2020 Assembly polls performance in Seemanchal, a region comprising flood-prone and economically backward districts such as Purnea, Katihar, Araria, and Kishanganj.

In the 2020 Assembly polls, AIMIM had won five of the 24 seats in the region. However, with growing unemployment, migration, and high multidimensional poverty, the party is unlikely to repeat its performance in the 2025 elections.

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The AIMIM’s credibility has also taken a hit, with four of its five MLAs from 2020 defecting to the RJD. “Voting for AIMIM will only help the BJP,” many locals said. That disillusionment is evident across Seemanchal, a region where political loyalties run deep.

RJD-Congress stronghold

Seemanchal has long been a stronghold of the Congress and RJD, though the BJP and JD(U) have occasionally made inroads. It is the issue of illegal infiltration that the BJP has repeatedly used as a poll plank since the 1990s, though with little success. The region shares porous borders with Nepal and West Bengal, the latter sharing a boundary with Bangladesh.

Md Sahid Raza, a young social worker from Thipi Jhari, echoed Zakir’s sentiment. “For us, Congress represents hope for better days. We will again vote for the ‘hand’ symbol. We are against the BJP and AIMIM, who thrive on religious polarisation,” he said.

According to Raza, only a few youngsters now follow Owaisi. “A small section may support him, but the majority of us stand with Congress,” he said. “We don’t want anyone to play the politics of division, be it BJP or Owaisi. Despite being a Muslim-majority area, Kishanganj has never witnessed communal tension.”

Voters reject communal narratives

Bonilal Karmakar, sipping tea with his Muslim neighbours, is also a Congress supporter. “The BJP keeps raising useless issues like cow smuggling, love jihad, or illegal Bangladeshis. The truth is that Hindus and Muslims live peacefully here. We want jobs, healthcare, and education, not communal debates.”

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Not everyone is this vocal. Arshad Alam, a shopkeeper in Pothia, said he hasn’t made a decision yet. “One thing is certain – we won’t waste our vote. We’ll vote with a positive mindset,” he told The Federal.

Non-Muslim voters, too, seem to prefer the Congress. Gurudas Singh, a garment trader, and Radheyshyam Agarwal, a hardware wholesaler in Kishanganj town, said the party has never played the polarisation card like the BJP or AIMIM.

Across Kishanganj constituency – a mix of rural and urban areas – the dominant mood is that peace and development matter more than religion. Many Muslims expressed anger over Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah’s repeated attempts to label the region as a hub of ghuspaithiye (infiltrators).

No takers for infiltration charge

With 47 per cent of the region’s population being Muslim (compared to Bihar’s state average of 17.7 per cent), polarisation efforts are easily understood. The BJP’s long-standing narrative has been to brand Bengali-speaking Muslims as Bangladeshis to consolidate Hindu votes among non-Muslim groups.

Kishanganj has a Muslim population of 68 per cent, followed by Katihar with 44 per cent, Araria with 43 per cent, and Purnea with 38 per cent.

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Locals, however, reject this charge. “Who stopped Modi and Shah from taking action if infiltrators really exist?” asked Abu Bakar, a schoolteacher from the Kadam Rasul area. “Is there any data or arrests? This is an election gimmick to divide voters. Let them publish an independent fact-finding report if they dare.”

Bakar added that Bengali-speaking Muslims here are deeply rooted in local culture. “Just because someone speaks Bengali doesn’t mean they’re Bangladeshi,” he said.

Contrary to the BJP’s claims, the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists this year found no infiltrators in Seemanchal. Despite rumours during the July review exercise, the EC’s August list did not delete a single voter for being an illegal immigrant.

Religious lines define loyalty

Maniklal Ravidas, a contractual state employee, said he plans to back the RJD-Congress alliance. “I’ve been working for 15 years without benefits or a pay hike. The NDA has done nothing for us. We want change,” he said.

Kishanganj’s voting patterns remain sharply divided along religious lines. Muslims, who form 68 per cent of the population, largely back the Congress, while most Hindus, about 31 per cent of residents, support the BJP or JD(U). “We tribals have been voting for Nitish Kumar’s NDA and will continue to do so,” said Lakhi Ram Marandi of Thipi Jhari, as he worked spraying pesticides on tea plants near the road.

Nearby, Mangal Sarkar, a villager close to the West Bengal border, said his loyalty to the BJP remains firm. “We’ll ensure most votes from our village go to the BJP,” he told The Federal.

Direct contest

Yet, even BJP supporters admit the odds are tough. “The BJP has little chance here; the Congress will win because of Muslim unity,” said Ganesh Gupta, a vendor at Gandhi Chowk. Mahesh Prasad, a hotel worker nearby, agreed. “The BJP’s only hope lies in Owaisi splitting the Muslim vote, which seems unlikely,” he said.

Safi Ahmad, a youth whose mother is a ward member under the Kishanganj Municipal Corporation, predicted a sweep for the RJD-Congress alliance across Kishanganj, Bahadurganj, and Kochadham constituencies.

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In Seemanchal, the main contest remains between the RJD-Congress-led Mahagathbandhan and the ruling NDA comprising BJP and JD(U). Owaisi’s AIMIM and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraj party are attempting to carve out a third space.

In Kishanganj, Congress candidate Qamrul Hoda faces BJP’s Sweety Singh, a familiar face who has unsuccessfully contested four previous Assembly polls since 2010 and lost the 2010 race by just 264 votes. In Bahadurganj, the fight is between Congress and AIMIM, while in Kochadham, RJD’s Mojahid Alam is challenging AIMIM’s sitting MLA.