Abdul El-Sayed has won the Senate election in Michigan, the first Muslim to do so. Citing his historic victory, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has called on Muslims in India’s Uttar Pradesh to strengthen their own political identity.
NDTV reported on Wednesday (November 4) that, welcoming the win of El-Sayed, the first Muslim elected to the US Senate, Owaisi said the result carries a message for India’s Muslims too, especially those in Uttar Pradesh, whose political identity is often mocked.
In a post on X, Owaisi said: “An Abdul has won in Michigan. Now the Abdul of Uttar Pradesh must strengthen his own political identity.”
He also wrote in Hindi: “The Sanghis tried hard to make the name ‘Abdul’ a subject of ridicule. Now it is time for us to show that Abdul bows his head to no one but Allah. We will no longer spread our prayer mat before anyone else.”
Owaisi’s remarks were aimed at conventional electoral politics in Uttar Pradesh. He alleges that minority Muslims are asked for their votes at election time but are not given proper political representation in return.
Uttar Pradesh is due to hold assembly elections within a few months. Muslims make up about a fifth of the state’s voters, and the name “Abdul” is often used in political debate and on social media there to mock the Muslim community.
Owaisi’s party has long criticised both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and regional opposition parties such as the Samajwadi Party. It accuses the BJP of targeting Muslims, and opposition parties such as the Samajwadi Party of using Muslims only as a vote bank.
Owaisi made the remarks a few hours after US television networks reported the win of 42-year-old Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate election.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report