Hyderabad: While the Congress tsunami has swept the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) away in the just concluded Assembly polls in Telangana, the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) bastion in Hyderabad’s old city remains intact. The Congress failed to make any dent here. The Majlis once again demonstrated its supremacy in the old city by decimating its arch-rivals – BJP and MBT. Despite the initial hiccups the Majlis managed to retain its base, clinching victory in its existing 7 Assembly seats. The party came up a cropper in two other constituencies it contested – Jubilee Hills and Rajendernagar.
However, the sweet taste of triumph is tinged with the bitterness of reduced victory margins in two crucial constituencies— Nampally and Yakutpura. The latter being its stronghold, the poor performance has come as a shock to the party. Incidentally, this segment witnessed the lowest polling percentage of 27.87 in the city. The electoral battle for the Majlis was especially tough in these segments with the Congress and MBT candidates putting up a spirited fight. Right from the word go it was a nail-biting, booth-to-booth battle with Feroz Khan of Congress and MBT’s Amjadullah Khan engaged in a neck-to-neck race in Nampally and Yakutpura constituencies respectively. In fact, they threw a scare in the Majlis camp and as the counting of votes progressed it proved to be a touch-and-go situation.
At Darussalam, the party headquarters, the Majlis leadership, and its supporters waited for the outcome with bated breath. There was a palpable relief when former Mayor, Mohammed Majid Hussain, won by 2037 votes in Nampally and Jaffar Hussain Meraj scraped through with a mere 878 votes in Yakutpura. In Karwan constituency too the party faced a tough contest from Amar Singh of BJP in the initial rounds. Ultimately the sitting Majlis legislator, Kausar Mohiuddin, romped home with a comfortable margin of 41,986 votes. However, the biggest win for the party was from its veteran leader, Akbaruddin Owaisi, who retained his Chandrayangutta seat by a huge margin of 81,660 votes. In Bahadurpura, first-time contestant, Mohammed Mubeen, routed his BRS opponent by a margin of 67,025 votes. Ahmad Bin Abdullah Balala, who faced a tough challenge from Shaikh Akbar of Congress in Malakpet, trounced him by 26,106 votes while former Mayor, Mir Zulfeqar Ali, registered a comfortable win from Charminar with a margin of 22,853 votes.
The narrow win in Yakutpura and Nampally constituencies reflects a shifting electorate attitude. The youth, a crucial demographic, seem to have plumped for the Congress in Nampally and leaned towards the MBT’s Amjadullah Khan in Yakutpura. A desire for change resonated among the voters, something the Majlis leadership has to reflect on.
In contrast, Jubilee Hills and Rajendernagar constituencies seemed destined to elude the Majlis. The party, cognizant of this reality, is not unduly perturbed by the outcome. Party candidates, Swamy Yadav (Rajendernagar) and Mohammed Rashed Farazuddin (Jubilee Hills) ended up in the fourth position. At the end of the day, there’s no gain or loss for the Majlis. But the close shave has served as a wakeup call to the leadership.
The Majlis supremo, Asaduddin Owaisi, acknowledged the verdict with respect, expressing gratitude for the voters who supported his party. “We will identify the loopholes and take corrective measures,” he remarked.
All said and done, the close contest in Nampally and Yakutpura has certainly come as a shock to the Majlis leadership. The party has to seriously think of reevaluating its strategies and connecting with the changing aspirations of the electorate. In the final analysis, the electoral outcome presents an opportunity for introspection rather than despair. Though rooted in its stronghold, the Majlis has to grapple with the dynamics of evolving preferences. Adapting to the rising ambitions of the electorate and addressing the changing political landscape is imperative for the party’s sustained relevance.
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