Hyderabad: Sameer Waliullah, Hyderabad District Congress Committee (DCC), announced that the Congress would soon kickstart its campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the Hyderabad Parliamentary constituency.
“In a meeting held yesterday, chief minister and TPCC chief A Revanth Reddy declared the Congress party’s ambition of winning all 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana. The entire Congress cadre will work diligently to secure victories in all seats, including Hyderabad,” stated Sameer Waliullah in a media statement on Wednesday, January 30.
Acknowledging the competition among Congress aspirants for the Hyderabad seat, he confirmed his interest in the contest.
He expressed faith in the party’s selection process and emphasised the upcoming meeting with leaders of all Assembly constituencies to finalise the campaign strategy.
‘Congress will make history’
Sameer Waliullah emphasised that the Congress party is in a strong position in Hyderabad and anticipates ‘making history’ by winning the seat with a substantial majority.
He highlighted the tremendous response to the Congress party in the Old City of Hyderabad, evident in the recent Assembly elections where the party secured over 93,000 votes in the constituencies within the Hyderabad Parliamentary constituency.
He also pointed out a significant increase in the Congress vote share in various constituencies compared to the 2014 and 2018 elections.
He further highlighted the substantial increase in Congress’s vote share compared to previous elections. “For example, in Chandrayangutta, the vote share jumped from 3.80% in 2014 to 9.49% in 2023. Similar increases were observed in Charminar (5.10% to 11.11%) and Malakpet (6.70% to 22.50%),” he said.
“With the Congress Government in power in Telangana, we are confident that the party would win the seat from the AIMIM,” he said.
Waliuallah slams Owaisi
Sameer Waliullah said that Hyderabad has been neglected since the AIMIM won the seat in 1984. He criticized AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi “for not addressing issues related to the Old City in Parliament or outside.”
“Despite AIMIM’s close ties with the previous BRS regime, it failed to secure funds or a major project for the Old City, including the Metro Rail or any public transportation facility,” he added.
The Hyderabad DCC chief said that, under the Congress, the Old City is all set to witness “unprecedented development and growth in its history.”
“In less than a week after coming to power, chief minister Revanth Reddy initiated the process for the development of Hyderabad. He convened a review meeting with public representatives and officials to discuss measures for fast-tracking the development of the Old City. The Musi River development project, inspired by the Thames River of London, would change the outlook of the entire Old City and create lakhs of jobs. Furthermore, chief minister Revanth has already changed the Metro Rail routes to ensure that it passes through the Old City,” he stated.
Sameer Waliullah stated that the Congress government would ensure the development of all sections of society in the Old City of Hyderabad.
Calls out AIMIM’s ‘communal approach’
He condemned the AIMIM for”creating a false impression” that only minorities live in Hyderabad, stating that the minority population in Hyderabad is only 59.15%, and the remaining 40% belong to other religions.
He attributed the neglect of the Old City to the “communal approach” of AIMIM during previous regimes. He mentioned that of the 24.74 lakh applications received for Praja Palana, about 5.08 lakh applications are from the Charminar zone alone, revealing the level of poverty and deprivation among the people of Hyderabad.
However, he expressed confidence that the situation would completely change after Congress wins the seat in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
