AIMIM prepares for Jubilee Hills bypoll: Eyes seat after backing BRS in 2023; Muslim, SC vote split may impact Congress, BRS prospects
HYDERABAD: The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is preparing the ground to contest the forthcoming by-election to the Jubilee Hills assembly constituency in the city.
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The bypoll to the seat was necessitated following the death of sitting MLA, Maganti Gopinath of the BRS.
The bypoll is crucial for all the major political parties - Congress, BRS, BJP and AIMIM - as its result is expected to influence the elections to 150 wards of the GHMC, which are likely to be held by year-end or early next year.
The AIMIM had contested this seat in the 2014 and 2023 assembly elections, finishing second and fourth, respectively. The constituency has a sizable population of Muslim and SC voters. AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP
has directed the party leaders to prepare for the bypoll.
There is speculation that both BRS and Congress may consider holding talks with the AIMIM, as a split in the Muslim vote bank could mar the chances of both parties. The BRS has not lost this seat since the formation of Telangana state.
Political observers said the AIMIM contesting the 2023 assembly polls boosted the victory prospects of the then-ruling BRS. In the polls, MIM candidate Mohammed Rashed Farazuddin secured nearly 8,000 votes, finishing fourth.
In the 2014 election, AIMIM's Naveen Yadav polled nearly 42,000 votes and finished second. The party did not contest the seat in 2018. The talk in political circles is that the AIMIM entering the electoral battle from Jubilee Hills in the 2023 poll was allegedly to help the BRS. It was more of a friendly sort of contest, said the political analysts.
However, the AIMIM, which had openly supported the BRS in the 2023 assembly elections, appears to have changed its strategy after the Congress came to power in the state in Dec 2023.
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During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi appealed to the Muslims to support some of the Congress candidates.
However, a senior leader said the party is extending issue-based support to Congress govt. "Our main objective is the development of Muslims, SCs, STs, BCs, EWS, and other marginalised communities. Any move to support the govt will be taken keeping in view the welfare of these sections and the development of the Old City. We have started working in Jubilee Hills. As far as contesting elections or finalising the candidate for the bypoll is concerned, the party will decide at an appropriate time," said a senior leader of the AIMIM.
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