All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi launched a fiery attack on Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav during his campaign in Bihar’s Seemanchal region, mocking the young opposition leader for allegedly calling him an “extremist.” Owaisi’s sharp remarks, made during a rally in Kishanganj district on Sunday, added fuel to the already heated political atmosphere as Bihar heads toward the Assembly elections scheduled for November 6 and 11.

The AIMIM leader, known for his outspoken and combative political style, addressed a large gathering where he responded to Yadav’s purported remarks from a recent interview. “Today, an interviewer asked Tejashwi Yadav why he didn’t align with Owaisi. Tejashwi said Owaisi is an extremist, a fanatic, a terrorist,” Owaisi told the crowd. “I ask Tejashwi, ‘Babu, write the word extremist in English. Babu, extremist ko tum zara angrezi mein likh ke batatdo.’ He calls me an extremist because I follow my religion with pride,” Owaisi added, drawing loud cheers from the audience.

Owaisi’s jibe, both sarcastic and symbolic, was aimed at portraying Yadav as an elite politician disconnected from the people of Bihar’s marginalized Muslim belt. “Tejashwi Yadav, you are detached from the ground,” Owaisi said, emphasizing that the people of Seemanchal — one of the state’s most backward and neglected regions — have long suffered from unemployment, poor infrastructure, and lack of educational opportunities. He accused Yadav and his party of paying only lip service to the needs of the region’s voters, many of whom have migrated to other states in search of livelihood.

The AIMIM leader’s speech was part of his ongoing campaign to strengthen his party’s foothold in the Seemanchal region, which includes districts such as Kishanganj, Araria, Purnea, and Katihar. This area has a high concentration of Muslim voters and has traditionally been a stronghold of the RJD and the Congress. However, Owaisi’s party made surprising gains in the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, winning five seats in this region before most of its legislators defected to the RJD.

The political row erupted after the AIMIM shared an audio clip on X (formerly Twitter), claiming it was from Tejashwi Yadav’s interview in which he allegedly referred to Owaisi as an extremist. Along with the clip, the party posted a message accusing Yadav of insulting the people of Seemanchal. “Tejashwi Yadav called him (Owaisi) an extremist upon seeing the cap on his head and the beard on his face; this is an insult to the entire people of Seemanchal,” the AIMIM post read.

Owaisi, during his speech, used the controversy to project himself as a leader standing up for the dignity and political representation of Seemanchal’s Muslim community. “Eight-year-old children were chanting ‘Patang Chap’ (referring to AIMIM’s election symbol, the kite),” he told the crowd. “Tejashwi, did you see that an eight-year-old child is saying ‘Patang Chap’? But you are flying in the sky — you don’t have time to come down to the earth. But the people of Seemanchal will make you sleep on the ground,” he said, in a pointed jab at Yadav’s perceived arrogance.

The AIMIM chief’s remarks come amid a complete breakdown of talks between his party and the opposition Mahagathbandhan alliance led by Yadav’s RJD and the Congress. Negotiations over seat-sharing reportedly collapsed after the AIMIM demanded six seats in the Seemanchal region, a proposal that was rejected by the INDIA bloc partners. Following the failed talks, Owaisi announced that his party would contest independently in the 2025 Bihar elections, fielding 25 candidates across the state.

The Kishanganj constituency, where Owaisi made his remarks, is one of the most closely watched seats in the upcoming polls. In the 2020 Assembly election, Congress candidate Ijaharul Husain narrowly defeated the AIMIM nominee. This time, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Sweety Singh, the Mahagathbandhan has nominated Qamrul Hoda, and AIMIM has put forward Advocate Shams Aghaz as its candidate. The constituency will vote in the second phase on November 11.

Political observers view Kishanganj as a microcosm of the larger battle unfolding in Bihar — a contest not just between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition Mahagathbandhan, but also between established political families and smaller regional outfits seeking to carve out a niche. The AIMIM, despite its limited influence, has managed to attract attention through its focus on identity politics and issues affecting Muslim-majority areas, particularly in Seemanchal.

Owaisi has consistently accused mainstream parties — including both the RJD and the Congress — of neglecting Muslim-dominated districts while using them as vote banks. He argues that despite decades of political dominance by these parties, Seemanchal continues to lag in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and job opportunities. “Our youth are forced to migrate to other states for work,” he said during his Kishanganj speech. “They work as laborers in Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad while politicians here give empty promises every five years.”

Tejashwi Yadav, on the other hand, has dismissed Owaisi’s campaign as an attempt to divide opposition votes in favor of the NDA. Yadav and other RJD leaders have often accused the AIMIM of playing the role of a “BJP agent” — a charge Owaisi has repeatedly denied, calling it a “lazy and false narrative” used by parties afraid of losing Muslim votes. “When we fight elections independently, they call us BJP agents. When we demand justice and equality, they call us extremists. Is this their definition of democracy?” Owaisi asked the crowd, eliciting applause.

With just days left before polling, the verbal duel between Owaisi and Yadav has further intensified the political contest in Bihar. For the AIMIM, the election represents both an opportunity and a test — a chance to reestablish its credibility after the defection of its legislators in 2021 and to prove that its influence in Seemanchal is not merely symbolic. For the RJD, it is a battle to maintain its dominance among Muslim voters, who have traditionally formed a key part of its support base alongside Yadavs.

The Bihar Assembly elections this year are set to be a multi-cornered contest, with the ruling NDA — led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and the BJP — facing the opposition Mahagathbandhan, which includes the RJD, Congress, and Left parties. The AIMIM’s independent campaign adds another dimension to the race, particularly in Muslim-majority constituencies.

As political rallies grow louder and the rhetoric sharper, the Owaisi–Tejashwi confrontation has become one of the election’s most talked-about flashpoints. The AIMIM chief’s quip — “Babu, write extremist in English” — may have been laced with humor, but it underscored a deeper political message: that the fight for Seemanchal’s votes will be as much about identity and pride as about governance and opportunity.

The results of the Bihar Assembly elections will be announced on November 14, bringing to a close one of the state’s most fiercely contested political battles in recent years.