AIMIM ineligible to contest local body elections, claims petition in Gujarat HC

A writ petition has been filed in the Gujarat High Court seeking the immediate disqualification of all All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidates contesting the upcoming municipal corporation, municipality, and district panchayat elections.

The plea further claims that since the party lacks recognised status, its candidates cannot contest under the AIMIM symbol and their nominations should be rejected.

The petition, submitted by Irfan Sheikh, challenges the party's legal status to participate in the state’s local body polls. It questions a Gujarat government gazette notification issued on March 22, 2026, which officially recognised AIMIM as a political party in the state.

The petitioner argues that the recognition is invalid because AIMIM fails to meet the mandatory criteria laid down under election laws for state-level recognition.

According to the plea, a party must secure at least 6 per cent of the total valid votes polled in the previous election in the state and have either one Member of Parliament or three Members of the Legislative Assembly from Gujarat. AIMIM does not fulfil these conditions, rendering its recognition legally flawed, the petition claims.

Additionally, the petition highlights a violation of Section 33(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. It alleges that most AIMIM candidates submitted nomination papers with just one proposer and one seconder — a facility available only to candidates of recognised parties. Unrecognised party candidates are required to have at least 10 proposers.