‘Paint Mumbra green!’ AIMIM corporator’s remark triggers political firestorm!

Soon after her victory, Shaikh courted controversy following a speech in which she spoke about painting the city “green”, triggering political reactions and debate.

Addressing party workers, Shaikh urged cadres to strengthen their performance in future elections.

“I would appeal to all of you to perform even better in the next elections. The whole Mumbra must be painted green and we have to drive out the opponents,” she said in Hindi.

As the remarks sparked a row, Shaikh clarified that her statement referred solely to the AIMIM’s party colour, which is green, and not to any communal or religious symbolism.

Speaking to NDTV, the young leader said the intention of her speech was to highlight her party’s electoral success and ambitions. “We have won five seats in Mumbra this time and we want more after five years. The colour of my party flag is green. If the colour was orange, I would have said I want to paint Mumbra orange. I wanted people to know the colour of my flag,” she said.

She also questioned why similar references by other political parties do not attract controversy. “Why don’t you ask parties like the JD(U), RJD or the Jannayak Janata Party, whose flags are also green? When they say they want to paint an area green, why does the media not have a problem with that?” Shaikh added.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), led by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, has been steadily expanding its footprint in Maharashtra’s urban local bodies, particularly in Muslim-majority pockets such as Mumbra, Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar), Nanded, and Malegaon.

In the latest round of civic polls, AIMIM improved its tally in several municipalities, emerging as a significant local player despite stiff competition from the Shiv Sena factions, BJP, Congress and NCP.

The party’s performance has underscored its strategy of focusing on grassroots issues and young leadership, with candidates like Sahar Shaikh symbolising its push to build a stronger base in Maharashtra’s urban centres.