Feature
MIM in serious fight in Bihar: Asaduddin Owaisi
By Mohammed Shafeeq
Hyderabad: The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) is making a beginning in Bihar by contesting six seats in the assembly elections but it won’t be a symbolic fight, says party chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
“It’s a serious fight and we have entered the electoral fray to win,” the third-time Hyderabad MP told IANS in an interview at Darussalam, the MIM headquarters here.
“This is a beginning. Certainly in future we will expand throughout Bihar. We have taken a start in Seemanchal (region), the most backward region, and we have limited ourselves to six seats,” said the London-educated barrister.
Seemanchal, comprising four districts, accounts for 24 of the 243 assembly seats. The MIM decided to field candidates in only six places.
Owaisi, 46, denied that his party limited itself to six seats in view of the criticism that its entry will split secular votes.
“Not at all. Criticism or praise doesn’t influence our decisions. It’s a decision of the party,” he said.
Owaisi said the MIM can’t be accused of dividing secular votes as secular alliances have 237 seats to contest.
“Our first priority is to defeat the BJP, and we have appealed to the people to vote for secular candidates of secular combinations in other places.”
Owaisi wonders why the charge of dividing secular votes is hurled at him, not at others.
“This question should be answered by the Left parties, which are contesting 200 seats, and by the Samajwadi Party and BSP.
“This whole debate (of division of secular votes) is totally wrong because a huge country like India can’t afford to have a two-party system or two-alliance system.”
Owaisi says the latest NSSO data exposes all political parties, be it the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Janata Dal-United or the Congress on how Seemanchal was deliberately kept underdeveloped.
“Material well-being, educational index, health index and economic index are pathetic there. If we are to compare that with other districts of Bihar, it clearly shows in a systematic way Seemanchal was kept backward.”
The party will demand a regional development board for Seemanchal’s overall development.
How can the MIM achieve this with a few legislators?
Owaisi: “I am the MIM’s single MP in the Lok Sabha, but I am trying my best. That is why you have come here to interview me. So the number is not important. What is really required is your intention and your approach towards a particular issue.”
Owaisi, who fought the Maharashtra assembly election on the slogan of Muslim-Dalit unity, believes that every state and region imposes different issues and challenges.
But the MIM’s main plank will definitely be empowerment of Muslims, Dalits and other weaker sections.
Owaisi also explained the reason for the MIM’s decision to contest byelections to two assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh.
“We want to expose the Samajwadi Party. They have not allowed me to hold public meetings after giving permission. Now when these by-elections will be held under the auspices of the Election Commission, I challenge them to stop me,” he said.
Expanding outside its traditional stronghold Hyderabad, the MIM made an impressive debut in Maharashtra last year.
Besides one Lok Sabha seat (Hyderabad), seven assembly seats in Telangana and two in Maharashtra, the party has significant presence in urban local bodies in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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