Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is likely to continue its ‘friendly’ relationship status with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Telangana. This, in spite of the Congress also reportedly reaching out to the AIMIM for some kind of an understanding over the last two months after it won the Telangana Assembly election last year.
A senior AIMIM functionary confirmed to Siasat.com that the Congress has in fact reached out to have some kind of a ‘friendly’ relationship as well keeping in mind the upcoming polls. He however said that having a political understanding in any way with them is impractical as they will be fighting the grand old party in other states.
“The Congress is trying to reach out to the Majlis for a friendly relationship. We can support them on a case to case basis, but there will be no political alliance. We can’t have an understanding with them as Congress has other alliances in different states which we will be fighting against like in Aurangabad (Maharashtra). Similarly, In Bihar, we will contest against the RJD-Congress-CPI(ML) alliance in Kishanganj,” said the AIMIM functionary.
There are 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, of which the BRS had won nine last time. The Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and AIMIM had won four, three and one each. This time since the Congress is in power, the BRS is likely to win much lesser seats. Analysts are in fact expecting a direct contest between the BJP and Congress since voting patterns for Parliamentary polls are also on national issues.
AIMIM-Congress quid-pro-quo to continue
However, the AIMIM in Telangana at least has no issues working with the Congress government for a quid-pro-pro. “The understanding here is that we will support them on policies and issues, for which in return they sort out issues of the Muslim community in our constituencies. They want a political understanding but they also have others here like MBT who they support. So we will also two-time as they are doing,” remarked the AIMIM leader.
He added that the Congress cannot be on bad terms with the AIMI, given that it represents nearly half of Hyderabad city’s legislators. “The Greater Hyderabad area has 24 MLAs, but in Hyderabad city there are 15 seats of which we have seven. We åre doing business with the government, and they are also doing business with a party that represents almost half of Hyderabad district,” said the AIMIM functionary.
Similarly BRS however so far has no qualms on continuing its “friendly” status with the AIMIM. Both sides maintained the same during the 2023 November 30 Assembly polls and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also supported BRS openly. All in all, the AIMIM is in a comfortable position “We will not take the Hyderabad seat seriously, as we have no issues working with the AIMIM. The Congress can’t work with them as it has leaders like Feroz Khan and others who will obviously not gel well with AIMIM,” a BRS leader said.
Lok Sabha polls likely to witness triangular fight
Over the last give years the BJP in Telangana has managed to make impressive gains. Even though it had won just one out of 119 Assembly seats in the 2018 election, it managed to win four seats in the 2019 Parliament polls. In last year’s state elections, the BJP managed to double its vote share from 7% in 2018 to 14% in 2023. BRS supremo K Chandrashkekar Rao (KCR)
It will be looking to make further inroads in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as well. “Ideally the BJP is not strong in Telangana like Nalgonda, it should be a fight between the BRS and Congress. In other places it will be a triangular fight. But the BRS this time will be lucky to even get more than a few seats, because people voted against them in the state elections in 2023,” said a political analyst who did not want to be quoted.
