With the process of filing of nominations for the ensuing Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Telangana coming to an end on Wednesday, all the political parties are gearing up to launch an intensive campaign to grab the attention of voters.
The next two week will be highly crucial for the political parties to win the hearts and votes of the people. While the rest of Telangana is still warming up to witness an intense campaign, the Old City of Hyderabad is already in the grip of election fever. Two Assembly constituencies, Yakutpura and Chandrayangutta, are witnessing a keen contest between the arch rivals Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and Majlis Bachao Tahreek. The MIM and MBT candidates are battling for supremacy in these two prestigious constituencies where both the parties have equal dominance although the MIM has been winning both the seats since 1999.
While MBT President Dr Khayam Khan is competing against sitting MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi from Chandrayangutta constituency, his younger brother Majeedullah Khan Farhat has emerged as a strong contender against MIM veteran Mumtaz Ahmed Khan in Yakuktpura constituency.
The MBT hopes to repeat the history of 1994 elections when it made its debut by winning both Chandrayangutta and Yakutpura seats by defeating MIM in its own bastions. MBT founder Md Amanullah Khan had won the seat against the MIM from Chandrayangutta seat while Mumtaz Ahmed Khan made his debut in politics on MBT’s ticket from Yakutpura. However, about a year later, he joined the MIM. In 1999 elections, the MBT founder lost the election and since then the MIM has been maintaining its hold over the seats in the entire Old City.
According to analysts, this time the elections are going to be tough for the MIM candidates in both Chandrayangutta and Yakutpura constituencies. The MBT has focused all its energies on these two seats and is confident of winning them. While the MIM has been claiming that it brought development in both the constituencies, the MBT contends that the entire Old City remained backward during the MIM’s rule.
Compared to 2009, the elections this time are quite smooth for the MIM. In 2009, Siasat Editor Zahed Ali Khan gave a tough fight to MIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi from Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat. Although a similar contest was being expected in Hyderabad, Zahed Ali Khan announced his retirement from electoral politics which provided great relief to Asaduddin Owaisi. The TDP’s decision to ally with the BJP indirectly helped the MIM as several senior TDP leaders in the Old City resigned from the party in protest. This further reduced the competition for the MIM candidates, especially in Assembly segments like Charminar and Malakpet.
Although the MBT has fielded its candidates from different constituencies including Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, but it is clearly evident that its campaign is focused primarily in Yakutpura and Chandrayangutta segments. This has narrowed down the intense electioneering to two Assembly segments in the Old City.
Analysts say that the results of these Assembly constituencies would set the trend for future politics in the Old City. While the MBT is contesting the elections as a “Do or Die” battle, the MIM is struggling hard to protect its bastions.