Hyderabad: Undoubtedly, the biggest surprise in this Lok Sabha elections in Telangana was AIMIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi asking Muslims to vote for Congress candidates. On the final of campaigning on May 11, the Hyderabad MP asked his supporters to vote for Congress nominees in a handful of constituencies outside of the city.
This was unexpected, as Owaisi has been a bitter critic of the grand old part since it broke-off ties in 2012. He was also considered to be a trusted votary of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) supremo and ex-Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR). So what changed for the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) finally?
According to party insiders, the decision to back Congress candidates was purely to avoid Muslim votes getting split in seats like Secunderabad and Nizamabad which could help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win.
At the party’s final Lok Sabha election rally at Khilwat in Hyderabad’s Old City, Owaisi, stated that the ongoing elections are not about “Mamu” as he calls KCR, but about removing Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power.
“Let me make it clear. Make the fat man (Congress candidate Danam Nagendra) in Secunderabad, the one with lots of white hair (Congress candidate Jeevan Reddy) win in Nizamabad, the thin one (Dr Ranjit Reddy) in Chevella…Kite (AIMIM) in Hyderabad. People of AIMIM and people of Mahabubnagar, Chevellla, Secunderabad, Malkajgiri, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, and Adilabad, should vote for the defeat of BJP,” Owaisi had said.
A senior AIMIM functionary, who did not want to be named, said that the support extended to Congress is in Telangana alone, and will not be done country wide. “We have others who we are supporting outside. In Telangana this was simply done to avoid votes from getting split. If you notice, it was not blanket, but specific as he asked people to only vote for the Congress in seats where there are three way contests with the BRS and BJP,” he explained.
AIMIM rebuilding bridges with Congress in Telangana
Ever since the Congress came to power in Telangana last December, the AIMIM and Owaisi were cozying up with it. Asaduddin and Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy’s friendly demeanour in public and AIMIM not being critical of the state government was also an indicator in subsequent days.
In fact, while some Muslim leaders in the Congress wanted to take on the AIMIM in the Lok Sabha elections, the senior leadership however was more than willing to work with the AIMIM. Political analysts have maintained that this is the real nature of the AIMIM, which has always been a cat on the wall that jumps on the side of whichever party is in power.
Owaisi had quit the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre in 2012 after its 7 MLAs were arrested while protesting against the unauthorised expansion of the Bhagyalaxmi temple at the Charminar. He has since then been one of the Congress’ biggest critics. In the recent 2023 Assembly election as well, Owaisi had asked Muslims in Telangana to vote for “Mamu”, referring to KCR. On his part, KCR had said the BRS was “friendly” with AIMIM.
BRS leaders however said that this kind of political manoeuvrability is expected from the AIMIM politically. “They are always with whoever is in power, so we are not surprised,” said a BRS functionary. The AIMIM leader also told Siasat.com that the party still has good ties with the BRS otherwise.
