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The historic, laid-back Nawabi city of Hyderabad has its unique hum. It is a Muslim-majority constituency with a sizeable population of other communities.
The constituency has been a stronghold of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) from 1984 and the incumbent candidate, Asaduddin Owaisi, a three-time MP, is seeking his fourth term from the seat. Over the years, the BJP has continued its relentless contest against the AIMIM but in vain. BJP’s candidate J Bhagavanth Rao is hopeful of doing well in an election which is skewed in favour of the AIMIM due to the strong Muslim voter base.
Muslim preponderance
The Hyderabad Parliamentary constituency has seven Assembly segments of Charminar, Chandrayangutta, Goshamahal, Yakutpura, Bahadurpura, Malakpet and Karwan. Barring Goshamahal, the BJP was routed in all the seats in the recent Assembly elections.
Hyderabad constituency has total voter base of 19,57,772 — 10,12,369 men, and 9,45,271 women. In 2014, Asaduddin polled 5,13,868 votes against 3,11,414 votes by the BJP candidate.
The split in the Opposition votes due to TRS candidate Pusthe Srikanth and the Congress plays a key role in consolidation of votes for the AIMIM. The Congress has fielded Feroz Khan.
During an interaction, Owasi said he would win on the development agenda and his priority was to build a new Osmania Hospital building, to strengthen the sewerage network, making parts of the southern city flood-proof, improving the road network and local infrastructure among others. He is confident that the Hyderabad metro rail line, that is expected to run up to the Falaknuma Palace in the Old City, will be taken up after the polls.
Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, Asaduddin’s father, had represented the Hyderabad constituency and nurtured it for six terms and the baton was taken over by Asad. His younger brother Akbaruddin Owaisi has been a legislator.
The BJP candidate Bhagavanth Rao believes people will support him as they want a powerful national leader such as Narendra Modi and will vote for the development agenda. He called upon voters to back the BJP so that Hyderabad could be taken up for faster development.
One of the biggest challenges, particularly in the Charminar area, is the legacy infrastructure and the burden it has to take on as the city and the population grow. The challenge is to develop the civic infrastructure while retaining its heritage.
Apart from nurturing the Hyderabad constituency, Asaduddin has fielded candidates in Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Kishangunj in Bihar, seeking to expand the MIM party base.
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