India, Nov. 13 -- Asaduddin Owaisi, the lone Muslim voice in a politics dominated by Hindutva of many shades, has played an unusual card in the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly polls: he has decided not to split the Muslim vote.

His party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), regarded as an important voice of minorities, has chosen to put up only 16 candidates for the elections of 288 Assembly seats scheduled for November 20. This should be considered irregular, given that in the 2019 Assembly elections, AIMIM contested 44 seats, though it could win only two. In the process, it recorded a rise in the percentage of voter share.

Confirmations have now streamed in with the AIMIM's final list: sitting MLAs Mufti Ismail Qasmi ...