Hyderabad: There was quite a furore in the AIMIM when it became known that the party’s MLA from Chandrayangutta, Akbaruddin Owaisi, had filed his nomination papers for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency on Wednesday. His brother and president of the party, Asaduddin Owaisi, had filed his nomination papers for the same seat on Monday.
Party workers were in the dark about Mr Akbaruddin’s intention and sought confirmation about the news from senior leaders, but could not get satisfactory answers to why a second nomination had been filed.
Mr Akbaruddin apparently filed his nomination papers without intimating party workers and even took the media by surprise.
It is common for candidates other than the official candidate of the party to file nomination papers as supporting candidates. In case the nomination of the main candidate is rejected by the Election Commission, the other candidate from the party who has filed will become the party candidate. The AIMIM usually avoids this practice and hence the surprise and confusion.
The party cadre and the general public have been agog with the news and speculation is rife about the reason for the two nominations. Differences between the Owaisi brothers is a common surmise.
Party sources however said it was a routine practice and there is no change in the party’s candidate. The party’s official candidate for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat is Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi.
