MUMBAI: Just few months ahead of BMC election around 133 workers of the Majlise Ittihadul Muslimeen (MIM), including the general secretary of the party in south Mumbai, Samir Thakur, joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Saturday.
The switch is seen as a jolt to Waris Pathan, the Byculla MLA of MIM, who is under attack from those who deserted the party. SP state chief and MLA Abu Asim Azmi, while admitting the MIM workers into his party, said the disenchantment of MIM workers and the good track record of the SP was behind the exodus. “MIM has been exposed completely . It only believes in raising emotional issues and doing nothing for the people,” he said. The leaving MIM workers said the party they had worked for had turned out to be a party of “extortionists”. “Our complaints to the leaders (Owaisi brothers) remained unaddressed,” Thakur said.SP is fielding its Govandi corporator, Rais Shaikh, from Madanpura in south Mumbai and many MIM workers said his “good work” in the area was why they joined the party. “The people who left my party were previously in the Congress or NCP . It will not affect us as far more number of SP and Congress workers are joining us. As these people didn’t succeed in making money , they left,” Pathan said.