Former AIMIM member Mohammed Umar Khan joined the NCP after being denied a ticket. Pic/Datta Kumbhar

Even the rigidly religious are bound to wonder if leaving the fate of poll ticket aspirants in the hands of God is stretching it a bit much. But the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is making no bones about adopting this strategy for the BMC election. It has issued tickets over the last 10 days to a number of candidates based on the Salat al-Istikharah.

Istikharah involves praying when in need of guidance on an issue and leaving it to God for an answer. The plan was apparently carried out at the behest of Kausar Mohiuddin, MLA from Karwan, Telangana, who arrived in the city 15 days ago to help the party sharpen its strategy for the BMC election. He reportedly suggested that names of all aspirants be sent to AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi for selection through an Istikharah.

Mixed response
This has prompted many disgruntled party members to jump ship to other parties. Rafiq Kamdar is one of them. The former treasurer of AIMIM's Kalwa-Mumbra region recently joined the Shiv Sena from Thane after being exasperated by the ticket distribution method. "Istikharah is a religious ritual and it should not be dragged into politics. It is wrong to leave an aspirant's fate in the hands of God. The process should not be communalised," he rues.