Why AIMIM, Owaisis have held sway over Hyderabad for four decades
The party has been winning the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat since 1984 owing to its hold over the Muslim population and political camaraderie with the ruling party
The kite, the election symbol of the All India Majlis-e-Ittihad al-Muslimin (AIMIM), now led by Asaduddin Owaisi, has been soaring high in the old city of Hyderabad.
Interestingly, the AIMIM has held sway over the parliamentary constituency since 1984, not losing a single election ever.
The Federal Telangana, after a detailed chat with local voters and political analysts, learned that the party owes its winning streak of four decades to its grip over the vast Muslim population that resides in Hyderabad as well as to the cordial terms it maintains with the party in power.
These factors, it is believed, will once again aid the party win from the Hyderabad seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Traditional Muslim vote bank
A resident of the Old City, who did not want to be named, said the successive victories of the party were possible due to the influence of Muslim voters who, at 59 per cent, make up more than half the population of the constituency.
The constituency has 4.2 per cent voters from the Scheduled Caste, 1.3 per cent from the Scheduled Tribe and 0.1 per cent Christian voters.
There are more than 11 lakh Muslim voters in the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency. A majority of them are concentrated in Kurmaguda, Karwan, Indiranagar, Prashanth Nagar, Vinay Nagar, Santhosh Nagar, Singareni Colony, Jiyaguda, Bapunagar, Shivajinagar, Laxminagar, Sanjay Nagar, Keshavswamynagar, Narasimhanagar, Singareni Huts, New Satyanarayana Nagar Colony, Chelapura, Talab Katta, Bhavaninagar, Venkatesh Nagar, Karwan Sahu, Durganagar, Hiranagar and Bandlaguda areas.
Why do they dote on Asad bhai?
Bavarchi Syed Ghaffar, a resident of Chandrayan Gutta, said Muslims vote for the Owaisi family as its members look after every small need of the community in the Old City.
Ghaffar himself has been voting for the Owaisi family – from ‘Salar Saab’ (Salahuddin Owaisi) to his son and party’s current president Asaduddin Owaisi – for the past four decades.
“I have nine children including seven daughters. My daughters have been married off and my sons work in a battery shop. My wife works as a domestic help and I cook at function halls. My family loves Asad bhai (Asaduddin Owaisi) who comes forward and helps us in our hardships. Financial assistance is given to those who are in trouble. In the month of Ramzan, the party gives free ration and clothes to poor people like us. They take us to the hospital if we fall ill. It is Asad bhai who has made it possible and I will definitely vote for him,” he said.
All for Majlis party
Mohammed Sohail, owner of a shoe shop in the Charminar area, said his family has traditionally voted for the 'Majlis party' (AIMIM).
Sohail believes only AIMIM can help in the development of the Old City and that he will vote for it in any election.
“Asad bhai is always available for us and helps the poor in the city. The voters stand behind him because of his helpful nature and this is why the AIMIM has been winning the Lok Sabha election from the Hyderabad constituency for the past 40 years,” he said.
We don’t want a fight: Hindus
Hindu voters in the constituency have a slightly different tale to tell. Some of them whom The Federal Telangana reached out to claimed they are compelled to vote for the AIMIM as they are a minority in the area and are worried of being singled out and 'targeted' if they do otherwise.
Kanaklara Ashok, a salesman from the Lal Darwaja area in Patabasti, said he has been voting for the AIMIM for this reason, but has decided to vote for the BJP this time.
Ashok said he was forced to work as a salesman as he was unable to get a job despite his degree. “Hindus are a minority in Patabasti Charminar area. If the Majlis go against us, our survival becomes questionable,” he said.
Negligible presence of BJP
He further said the BJP, due to its negligible presence in the area, is also not able to assure support to Hindu voters, prompting them to vote for AIMIM instead.
“Many Hindus vote for AIMIM as they don’t want to fight with them. BJP candidates who contest the elections don’t give enough assurances to Hindus. That's why Old Town Hindu voters also have to support the Majlis party,” he said.
He alleged that even the police is incapacitated against the strength of AIMIM workers.
Pointing to an unusual trend in the area, Ashok said during special Friday prayers at the Jama Masjid in Charminar, at 1.30 pm, bells are also rung and aarti offered at the nearby Bhagyalakshmi temple. He said the puja is performed under the supervision of armed police.
AIMIM’s winning streak
The Hyderabad Parliamentary constituency encompasses 15 assembly constituencies including Malakpet, Karwan, Goshamahal, Charminar, Chandrayan Gutta, Yakutpura and Bahadurpura. It flaunts a high literacy rate of 73.34 per cent
It was Asaduddin’s father Salahuddin, who won the seat the first time in 1984, and continued for five more terms – in 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998 and 1999. Asaduddin won the seat in his Lok Sabha debut in 2004 with a margin of 100,000 votes. He won the subsequent polls in 2009, 2014 and 2019.
Early bird
The party is determined to maintain its winning streak in the upcoming Parliamentary polls. Asaduddin began his campaign for the Lok Sabha elections quite early – as soon as the results of the assembly elections were announced last year.
The AIMIM leader recently met the poor in Muslim-dominated slums on the occasion of Ramzan. Besides its campaign and populist measures, the party has also hosted Iftar dinners to woo the voters.
A huge pre-election meeting was also organised for party cadres on March 2 to mark AIMIM’s revival day (by Maulvi Abdul Wahed Owaisi in 1958).
Camaraderie with Congress govt
The AIMIM, which had cordial ties with the K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) when the latter was in power, is said to have extended the same friendship to the newly-formed Congress government under Revanth Reddy. Congress sources say that the Majlis have come to an understanding with the Grand Old Party over the past two months.
They said the ‘understanding’ was evident in gestures made by Revanth towards AIMIM leaders, especially Asaduddin’s brother Akbaruddin Owaisi, on several occasions.
Revanth made Akbaruddin, an AIMIM MLA, the pro-tem speaker of the Telangana assembly. He also invited Akbaruddin to accompany him to London to discuss the development of River Musi.
The Chief Minister also gave importance to the opinions of Akbaruddin in the review meetings held on the development of Hyderabad city.
‘Deal to field dummy candidate'
Sources in the Congress said the party is trying to establish a friendly relationship with the AIMIM in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Sources in both the parties said their leaders have decided to field dummy candidates to split Hindu votes and derail the chances of the BJP.
There are also rumours that Revanth has decided to field a 'weak candidate' against Asaduddin in the Hyderabad seat.
A Congress leader who did not wish to be named said that two senior Congress leaders who contested the Telangana assembly elections recently, and were defeated by AIMIM candidates, are angry with Revanth’s attitude.
Call for Sania as contestant
Congress sources in Delhi revealed that the dissident leaders in Telangana had proposed to the Congress Central Election Committee to field tennis star Sania Mirza against Asaduddin in Hyderabad.
Political analyst and senior journalist Muhammad Mujahid from Pata Basti told The Federal Telangana that the AIMIM is likely to win the Hyderabad seat this time too. He attributes the winning streak of the party to its efficiency in striking a deal with major parties to field weak candidates against its own candidates.
“AIMIM’s approach to the ruling party has been going on for the last few decades. Majlis are known to get close to whoever is in power. It is common for the party to make secret deals with the ruling party and devise a strategy to field a weak candidate from the latter,” he said.
