Hyderabad: What looked like a close competition eventually turned out to be a damp squib. The Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has all decks cleared as the party is likely to sail to victory in the Hyderabad seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Many observers were hoping for an interesting contest this time, as it seemed that the Majilis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) would perhaps also emerge as a formidable contender, given that party leader Amjadullah Khan had almost snatched the Yakutpura seat from the AIMIM in the 2023 Assembly elections. MBT lost the seat by just 878 votes, shocking many.
However, the MBT eventually announced that it was withdrawing from the race in interest of the Muslim community. What it means is that the party was unwilling to let Muslim votes split with the AIMIM, as it could potentially also let the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). With the MBT out, AIMIM’s Owaisi is likely sighing in relief, as even a considerable reduction in his vote share will dent his party’s image amongst Muslims and even nationally.
Why MBT didn’t contest
Majeedullah Khan alias Farhath Khan, MBT president, said the party is not contesting the upcoming elections. “In view of the prevailing situation across the country and in Hyderabad, the MBT has decided against contesting the polls. After consulting with all the leaders of the MBT, we have reached this decision. For the benefit of the community, we are not contesting the elections. Our opponents know well what MBT party is after the recent Assembly elections,” he said
Moreover, another telling sign that the Hyderabad seat was not going to be a challenge for the AIMIM this time as well for the AIMIM was the ruling Congress taking forever to announce its candidate. Party district president Sameer Waliullah was finally nominated until the last minute before nominations closed. Prior to his nomination, others were also speculated, including that of ace tennis star Sana Mirza.
Waliullah, who has been with the Congress for many years, is not someone who can take on the AIMIM and Owaisi. Senior leaders from within also said that had the party been serious about the seat, it would have chosen a much more powerful personality like Konda Laxma Reddy, who in the past managed to draw over two lakhs of votes from the Hyderabad seat.
Congress sources confirmed that a strong candidate was not fielded as an understanding has been worked out with the AIMIM, which was in fact on “friendly” terms with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) until it lost the state elections last year. The AIMIM however made it clear almost immediately that it was willing to cast aside its animosity for mutual benefit.
Senior Congress leaders from Telangana were all for working with the AIMIM to get Muslim votes outside of Hyderabad. A quid pro quo essentially. Asaduddin Owaisi and Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy’s friendly demeanour in public and AIMIM not being critical of the state government is pretty much an indicator of this.
A senior AIMIM functionary denied that it is helping the Congress politically, but said that the party has chalked out some kind of an understanding for the benefit of its legislators (seven MLAs) who have to work with the state government for funds.
If Owaisi wins the Hyderabad seat again, it will be his fifth consecutive term as an MP from the constituency. AIMIM has also been winning the seat since 1984. It was first won by Salahuddin Owaisi, Asaduddin’s father. In the 2019 polls, the AIMIM won the seat with over five lakhs, while BJP’s Bhagvanth Rao came second with about 2.35 lakh votes. The Congress and BRS candidates drew close to 63000 and 50000 votes each.
AIMIM in other states
In the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the AIMIM is contesting from the Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Pune and Kishanganj(Bihar) seats. The party managed to win five Assembly seats in the 2020 Bihar Assembly polls, apart from having two MLAs in Maharashtra. However, its expansion has also hit a roadblock as its MLAs have all defected in Bihar and the AIMIM currently does not have any ally in Maharashtra as well.
It won the Lok Sabha Aurangabad seat in an alliance with the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi in 2019, and the alliance was broken a year later itself. Ambedkar on his part earlier had made it clear that the VBA will not go with the AIMIM, so it is to be seen if the AIMIM can win the Aurangabad seat again.
However, the AIMIM has also decided to support the VBA in some seats in Maharastra, and is also hoping to get support from the VBA as well.
