MIM to contest Karnataka assembly elections

Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Tuesday said it would contest the upcoming assembly elections in the Congress-ruled Karnataka.

The city-headquartered AIMIM said in a release that its president Asaduddin Owaisi made an announcement in this regard after a meeting here with the party’s Karnataka unit.

The Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP criticised the ruling Congress in Karnataka for allegedly not allowing him to address public meetings in the state. “There is no difference between BJP and Congress…Congress speaks about freedom of expression. But, there is no freedom of expression in the Congress-ruled states. They are not allowing me to address a public meeting in Karnataka,” the release quoted Owaisi as saying.

Elections in Karnataka, which has a 224-member assembly, are likely to be held in the first half of 2018.

PTI