"There is a lot of panic among the people (over NRC) and one section of the political party will always want this (panic to happen)," said AIMIM MP from Aurangabad and the party's Maharashtra unit chief Imtiaz Jaleel. He stressed that "the NRC cannot be implemented all of a sudden," and that "people must be given ample time." "Excesses by the police," unemployment, and the growing social divide during the BJP-Shiv Sena's rule in Maharashtra will also be their poll planks. The AIMIM has already declared 18 candidates, including five in Mumbai, with the final list being frozen by October 2. During the Lok Sabha polls, the VBA and AIMIM, contested all 48 seats in Maharashtra, and are blamed for eating into the Congress and NCP's votes, leading to their defeat in eight constituencies.

Source: dna September 30, 2019 00:22 UTC