Hyderabad: The Goshamahal constituency unit of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is working overtime to win the seat in the 2023 state polls, said party leaders. Currently held by suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh, the TRS is looking to strike when the iron is still hot, given that Raja Singh is still suspended and cannot take up any public activities based on a High Court order. He won the seat in the 2024 and 2018 Telangana state elections.
The Goshamahal constituency has six GHMC divisions and five of them are held again by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while the other one is by the AIMIM. In short, the TRS has no official presence here. The constituency is important as it falls under the Hyderabad Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency. It is centrally located in Hyderabad and is close to the Telangana Secretariat and Legislative Assembly. Raja Singh has a strong presence there.
In fact, the Congress office and AIMIM’s head office party are also located in the Goshamahal assembly constituency. A majority of business communities, most of which migrated from the north long ago, also India reside in the constituency and run businesses there. They make up for the bulk of Raja Singh’s base.
Nand Kumar Vyas alias Nandu Bilal, TRS Goshamahal in charge, told Siasat.com said his party is working very hard to win the assembly seat in the 2023 elections. TRS leaders in the constituency have been asked to start preparations, to defeat Raja Singh. “The party units in all the divisions of the Goshamahal constituency are strong. Round the clock, we are amongst people and explain the welfare schemes extended by the government. The party is also gaining ground,” claimed Nandu Bilal.
TRS leaders’ kickstart campaign
TRS Ministers during recent government programs like the distribution of old age pension cards and the Shaadi Mubarak/ Kalyana Lakshmi scheme visited various divisions in the Goshamahal constituency and interacted with the public. BJP MLA Raja Singh was released about a fortnight ago from the Central Prison Cherlapally by the High Court. He was in jail for 75 days, and the TRS is taking every chance it gets to try and defeat him.
The court quashed his detention under the Preventive Detention (PD) Act by the Hyderabad police. The Goshamahal was arrested after protests and violence erupted in August after Raja Singh passed derogatory comments against Prophet Muhammad in a video on Youtube. He made those statements on August 22, in retaliation against the state government allowing comic Munawar Faruqui to hold a show in Hyderabad.
It has been learned that Raja Singh is holding meetings with his close associates for the Goshamahal seat with regard to the next polls. According to the sources, the MLA is confident the party leadership will revoke his suspension soon and he would once again be allowed to work. Since his release, the MLA did not take part in any major program in Goshamahal except interacting with his well-wishers who came to extend their greetings to him.
“Once the suspension is revoked, Raja Singh will start the party activities. For now, he is continuing his rapport with the local constituency public and interacting with them,” said a BJP worker who is close to the MLA. While quashing his detention, the high court also ordered Raja Singh to not issue any media statements, or attend any public meetings. Basically, he is currently not allowed to participate in any political or public meeting.
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