Hyderabad: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Goshamahal MLA Raja Singh on Monday said that he will not be the party’s and candidate for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat. The legislator in fact threw the ball in state BJP chief Kishan Reddy’s court, saying that he would be a better candidate to take on AIMIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi. He also asked to be considered for the Secunderabad Parliament seat instead.
Dismissing media reports that BJP is considering for him to to contest for the Hyderabad Parliament seat, Raja Singh said that he does not hold “such a prominent position” and that he is not suitable for it. “It would be more appropriate for senior leaders within the party to take on this responsibility, and I am prepared to work under their guidance,” he said in a statement.
It may be recalled that Raja Singh was under suspension from the BJP in August 2022 until last year’s Assembly polls after he was arrested for passing derogatory remarks against the Prophet Muhammad. His suspension was lifted just days before the November 30 Assembly election. During the time he was suspended, it was speculated that he will contest from the Zaheerabad Parliamentary seat.
4 lakh bogus voters in Hyderabad: Raja Singh
However, he managed to win from the Goshamahal seat for the third time, and is unwilling to vacate it. On Saturday, he went on to allege that the AIMIM has bogus votes in the Old City of Hyderabad. Asaduddin Owaisi’s father Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi first won the Hyderabad seat in 1984 and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has not lost it since then. The constituency is believed to have about 63% of Muslim votes.
“As many are aware, Owaisi has allegedly orchestrated the creation of over 4 lakh bogus voters in the Hyderabad Parliament constituency. Therefore, I strongly believe that Kishan Reddy ji should focus on rectifying this issue before contesting, and once addressed, his victory in the Hyderabad Parliament election is 200% assured. If the party wishes for my candidature in a parliamentary election, I propose considering me for the Secunderabad parliament seat,” stated Raja Singh in his statement.
In last year’s Assembly polls, the Congress came to power in Telangana winning 64 seats, while the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) won 39. The BJP managed to increase its tally to eight seats, as against 2018 when Raja Singh was the only MLA who won then.
