Owaisi asks people to vote for MIM where it contests

Hyderabad: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday declared confidence that his party candidates will win the Assembly elections, and called on people to ensure a third term of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao who, he said, had ensured peace and development.

Speaking with reporters, Owaisi, however, refused to be drawn into any discussion on the number of seats his party will contest saying “Everything will become clear by the last date of nominations and we are asking people to vote for MIM wherever we field a candidate. In Telangana every vote is important be it that of a Muslim or a Hindu or others.”

The hope is, he said, that “KCR will become the Chief Minister for the third time. Sure, there are some issues, but there is visible development. There is peace. Muslims here came forward to hold Milad-un-Nabi celebrations three days later, the Muslims here showed the way for the rest of the country.”

Owaisi said his party will field three candidates in the Rajasthan Assembly elections.

On allegations by the BJP and the Congress that the AIMIM aligns with those in power, Owaisi said, “Hum sab ke Laila hain (we are everyone’s crush).” Referring to the Congress, he said the party leaders here would do well to remember that it was Congress that sought AIMIM help in the past.

“These people here are pseudo-secular. When Kiran Kumar Reddy was facing a no-confidence motion, they sought our support. When Pranab Mukherjee was facing the presidential election, who asked Asad to go and meet Jagan (now AP CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy) in prison? If I start revealing names, they will lose their sleep. This is their hypocrisy, political arrogance and intellectual dishonesty,” Owaisi said.

Targeting TPCC chief A Revanth Reddy, Owaisi said “Those who came from RSS and BJP have changed their ideologies like they change their clothes. I have seen Revanth working with Kishan Reddy (now state BJP president and Union Minister) in the 1999 Assembly elections. I have seen him twice like that.

Owaisi also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for saying the BRS wanted to join the NDA while at the same time, saying BRS sent money to Congress in Karnataka during elections. “These are contradictory. How can a PM say things like this?” Owaisi asked.