Hyderabad: The MIM has decided to contest in minority-dominated municipalities and corporations in the ensuing elections to the urban local bodies in the state. MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has appealed to party workers to gear up for the elections.
In a recent meeting with the district unit and urban unit party leaders, Mr Owaisi said that he hoped that the cases in the High Court against the civic polls will be disposed off soon and elections will be held in December this year.
He said party leaders should sort out their internal difference and unanimously choose candidates to contest in the civic polls, and then the party will issue tickets.
He made it clear that the party will give tickets to candidates based on reports from the district units.
The MIM put up a good show in the municipal elections in 2014 in Adilabad, Tandur, Nirmal and Bhainsa municipalities and Nizamabad Municipal Corporation.
Sources in the MIM disclosed that the party leadership has decided to concentrate seriously on the civic polls in view of the fact that 90 per cent of the Muslim population in the state lives in urban areas.
The party leadership is of the opinion that allowing a triangular fight between the ruling TRS, Congress and the BJP in Muslim predominant areas would benefit the Congress and BJP in some pockets of the state.
Instead the party has decided to concentrate on areas where the Muslim vote is crucial in deciding who wins.
Muslims are present considerable in numbers in the erstwhile districts of Nizamabad, Adilabad, Medak, Mahbubnagar Warangal, Karimnagar, and Ranga Reddy.
The state government in March 2018 increased the number of municipalities from 68 to 128 and municipal corporations from six to 13. With the creation of the new urban local bodies, the MIM leadership is planning to expand its base by contesting in the maximum number of ULBs. During the 2014 civic polls, the MIM had shared power with the ruling TRS in the Nizamabad Municipal Corporation, and Tandur and some other municipalities, and it had won the Adilabad and Bhainsa municipalities.
Sources in the party revealed that the MIM leadership is keen on contesting and gaining power in Kamareddy, Bodhan, Jagtial, Armo-or, Sultanabad, Huzura-bad, Zaheerabad, Husna-bad, Sangareddy, Medak and Shamshabad, and improving its strength in Karimnagar and Ramagundam corporations.
Nizamabad’s deputy mayor was from the MIM and this time the party is aiming for the post of Mayor. The party is eyeing the newly constituted corporations of Badangpet, Bandlaguda Jagir, Meerpet Jillela-guda, Boduppal, Peerza-diguda, Jawaharnagar and Nizampet, where it wants to establish a base by contesting in a considerable number of divisions.
