Greater Hyderabad, the next joint capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States, is all set to witness a battle for supremacy between the major political parties.
Of 24 Assembly segments, 15 are in Hyderabad district, eight in Ranga Reddy and one in Medak district. They fall in the jurisdiction of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation which is divided into 150 divisions.
In 2009 elections, the Congress won as many as 14 seats while the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen secured seven seats. One seat each was won by the TDP, BJP and Lok Satta. Despite the presence of five major political parties in 2009 elections, it was a straight contest in most of the seats. However, this time the political contest is most likely to be multi-cornered in most of the seat.
In 2009, Congress won Musheerabad, Khairtabad, Jubilee Hills, Sanathnagar, Goshamahal, Secudnerabad, Secunderabad Cantonment, Malkajgiri, Qutubullapur, Uppal, Patencheru, LB Nagar, Maheshwaram and Serilingampally. Following the impact of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and the presence of sizeable number of voters hailing from Seemandhra region in some constituencies, the Congress candidates might not find it easy to win the elections. For instance, Danam Nagender is already planning to shift to Nampally or any other seat from Khairtabad. Similarly, Malkajgiri, LB Nagar, Serilingampally and Qutubullahpur seats too might witness a different kind of contest this time.
The Congress party is also likely to replace a few candidates who were elected last time. In 2009 elections T Maneamma won from Musheerabad, P Vishnu Vardhan Reddy from Jubilee Hills, M Sashidhar Reddy from Sanathnagar, Mukesh Goud from Goshamahal, Jayasudha from Secunderabad, Dr P Shankar Rao from Secunderabad Cantonment (SC), Akula Rajender from Malkajgiri, Kuna Srisailam Goud from Qutubullapur, B Raji Reddy from Uppal, Nandeswar Goud from Patencheru,D Sudhir Reddy from LB Nagar, Sabitha Indira Reddy from Maheshwaram and Bhikshapati Yadav from Serilingampally. There is a strong possibility that the Congress party might not nominate almost half of these candidates this time.
The Telugu Desam Party is too keen to increase its strength in the Greater Hyderabad. In 2009, its candidate T Prakash Goud won from Rajendra Nagar seat. The TDP hopes to win at least half of the seats in Greater Hyderabad by having an alliance with the BJP. Similarly, the BJP, which won Amberpet seat is expecting to emerge as a strong force in Greater Hyderabad. BJP Telangana unit president G Kishan Reddy, the sitting MLA from Amberpet, is most likely to contest from Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat which will have an impact on all the seven Assembly segments falling in its jurisdiction.
Lok Satta Party Dr Jaya Prakash Narayana, who won from Kukatpally Assembly segment in 2009, is contemplating to contest from Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat although he has been named as party’s candidate from Kukatpally.
The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen is hoping to retain all the seven Assembly seats that it won in 2009 elections. In addition, the party is eyeing on six other seats which it could won in Greater Hyderabad. Breaking the party’s tradition of being the last in announcing the candidates, the MIM has announced the candidates from the seats that it won in 2009.
The MIM has re-nominated Akbaruddin Owaisi from Chandrayangutta, Ahmed Bin Abdullah from Malakpet, Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri from Charminar, Mumtaz Ahmed Khan from Yakutpura and Mohd Maozam Khan from Bahadurpura. However, it dropped two sitting MLAs – Mohd Virasat Rasool Khan and Mohd Muqtedar Afsar Khan from Nampally and Karwan seats. Instead, it fielded Jaffer Hussain Meraj and Kausar Mohiuddin from Nampally and Karwan constituencies respectively.
The YSR Congress Party is a new player in the political arena of Greater Hyderabad. Although the party has suffered a setback in Telangana due to its opposition to division of Andhra Pradesh, it is banking on Greater Hyderabad to ensure its survival in the region. The party has a strong cadre base in many Assembly segments of Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituencies.
Party Position in Greater Hyderabad (2009 Elections)
57-Musheerabad T Manemma INC
60-Khairthabad Danam Nagender INC
61-Jubilee Hills P. Vishnu Vardhan Reddy INC
62-Sanathnagar M. Shashidhar Reddy INC
65-Goshamahal Mukesh Goud INC
70-Secunderabad Jayasudha INC
71-Sec’Bad Cantonment Dr. P Shankar Rao INC
44-Malkajgiri Akula Rajender INC
45-Qutbullapur Kuna Srisailam Goud INC
47-Uppal Sri B.Raji Reddy INC
40-Patancheru Nandeswar Goud INC
49-L.B Nagar D. Sudhir Reddy INC
50-Maheshwaram Sabitha Indra Reddy INC
52-Serilingampally Bhikshapathi Yadav INC
58-Malakpet Ahmad Bin Abdulla AIMIM
63-Nampally Mohd. Virasat Rasool Khan AIMIM
64-Karwan Mohd Muqtada Khan AIMIM
66-Charminar Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri AIMIM
67-Chandrayangutta Akbaruddin Owaisi AIMIM
68-Yakuthpura Mumtaz Ahmed Khan AIMIM
69-Bahadurpura Mohd. Moazam Khan AIMIM
51- Rajendra Nagar T Prakash Goud TDP
59-Amberpet G. Kishan Reddy BJP
46-Kukatpally Dr. Jaya Prakash Narayan Lok Satta