Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM to skip contesting in Karnataka polls, will support Janata Dal (Secular)

HYDERABAD: Asaduddin Owaisi has now confirmed that his party All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will not contest the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018. The Hyderabad MP however confirmed that the party will extend its support to Janata Dal (Secular).
“We will not contest in upcoming Karnataka elections. AIMIM will support JDS and will campaign for them. We feel both national the parties have totally failed us,” said Owaisi. 
Earlier, there were rumors that the party feels it's participation in Karnataka polls can have a negative effect on the other Congress' vote bank.
“This allegation on us 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” counter-questioned the Hyderabad lawmaker.
Karnataka polls are scheduled to be held on May 12, with the counting on May 15. 

In January this year, the party had identified few constituencies in northern Karnataka, where they planned to contest the polls. 

The Hyderabad MP had earlier said that the country is fed up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, and it's time to go for a third front, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

“..people of the country are fed up with BJP governance and Congress is not a viable option, neither it can become one," said Owaisi. 

Last week, the BJP announced its first list of 72 candidates for the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018. A meeting of the party's Central Election Committee was held in the evening to decide over the candidates. "The central election committee of the party has decided the first 72 names for the ensuing Karnataka legislative assembly elections," said the BJP's state unit in a statement.