Karnataka Elections 2018: 'AIMIM will not contest, extends support to Janata Dal (S),' says Owaisi

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi announced that his party would not contest in the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections. Also, he declared support to former PM HD Deve Gowda's Janata Dal (Secular) which is in pre-poll alliance with the Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Asaduddin Owaisi told ANI, "We will not contest in upcoming Karnataka elections, AIMIM will support JDS and will campaign for them. We feel both national parties have totally failed."

He denied allegations of his party's support to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Owaisi said, "This allegation of cutting votes to benefit BJP is baseless. We did not contest in Gujarat, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir Did not contest Lok Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra. What happened to Congress there?"

Earlier this month, talks were doing rounds that former prime minister Devegowda's Janata Dal-Secular (JD (S)) was looking to join hands with AIMIM. JD(S) leader P G R Sindhia had confirmed that his party was in talks with Asaduddin Owaisi for a formal tie-up ahead of the polls.

The AIMIM's entry into Karnataka electoral politics was expected to eat into Congress' vote share that draws its support from AHINDA (an acronym for Minorities, Backward Classes and Dalits) of which Muslims form a huge chunk.