MIM Faces Dilemma: : Cadre Pushes for More Seats, BRS Prefers Status Quo

HYDERABAD: The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, the powerful party which has a stranglehold on parts of the city of Hyderabad and won from seven Assembly seats in the 2014 and 2018 elections, is learnt to be struggling to strike a balance between its friendly ties with BRS and increasing demands from its party leaders in other districts to expand its footprint in the coming Telangana state Assembly elections.

The MIM had won from Malakpet, Nampally, Karwan, Charminar, Yakutpura, Bahadurpura, and Chandrayangutta in the last two elections and with its seven MLAs, also earned the title of the principal opposition party in the current Legislative Assembly after the Congress that enjoyed the status initially, was gutted with several of its members who won in the 2018 elections, quitting the party and joining the BRS.

According to sources familiar with the happenings within the MIM, party president Asaduddin Owaisi is being pressured by party leaders from Nizamabad and Nirmal districts to field candidates from the two districts in the coming elections. There is also pressure to contest again this time from Rajendranagar constituency from where in the 2018 elections, the party fielded Mirza Rahmat Ali Baig Quadri who came third with 46,547 votes polling 18.55 per cent of total votes polled. The election was won by BRS’ T. Prakash Goud, with Telugu Desam’s R. Ganesh coming second.

The sources said that the MIM was also under pressure from the BRS which would not want to see the party led by Asaduddin contest from seats other than what it won from in 2018. The ruling party fears that if MIM contests from more seats, then the minority vote might get split and that could help Congress, or even the BJP that will bank on polarizing voters but hurt BRS’ prospects in such constituencies.

It was just on October 30 that BRS working president and minister K.T. Rama Rao, addressing a meeting of Muslims, called on them not to get used like vote banks by the BJP or the Congress and throw their lot behind the BRS. Rama Rao had also urged the Muslim members, particularly from the BRS, to impress upon their community in the 60 to 70 constituencies — including those in Nizamabad and Nirmal districts — where Muslims have significant presence to vote for the BRS.