Telangana Muslim voters key in tilting balance

Hyderabad: Muslim votes in Telangana are likely to be split between the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the opposition Congress-led People's Front, as the two major contenders for power have intensified their efforts to woo the minority community. With a huge concentration of Muslim voters in state capital, Hyderabad, and in some other districts, the Muslims are in a position to tilt the balance in nearly half of the 119 Assembly constituencies that are going to polls on December 7.

The role of Muslims, who constitute over 12 per cent of the state's 3.51 crore population, may become crucial in what appears to be a straight fight between the TRS and the People's Front that comprises of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Communist Party of India (CPI) and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS), besides Congress.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the third big contestant in some of the constituencies. The Muslim voters are believed to be between 35 and 60 per cent in 10 constituencies in Hyderabad, and anywhere between 10 to 40 per cent in 50 other constituencies spread across the rest of the state. The support of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) to the TRS in all constituencies, except the eight where MIM candidates are in the fray, may give the ruling party some edge over its rivals.

The Jamaat-e-Islami has also declared its support to the TRS. Jamaitul Ulema-e-Hind is backing the Congress. The United Muslim Forum, which comprises of various Muslim religious and social organisations and seen as a friend to MIM, also appears to have been divided over the issue of support to the TRS. Those supporting the TRS argue that four-and-a-half years of TRS rule was free from communal riots, and that the party took some steps for the welfare and development of Muslims like opening over 250 residential schools, scholarships for students and schemes like "Shadi Mubarak" under which financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh is being provided for the marriage of poor girls.

However, a section of Muslims is unhappy with the TRS for failing to fulfill its promise to increase reservation for Muslims from four per cent to 12 per cent. However, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) has been blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sitting on a resolution passed by the state Assembly. The section is also apprehensive that KCR may join hands with the BJP after the Assembly elections. They cite the TRS' support for the Modi government on demonetisation and on various issues, including elections for the posts of the president and the vice president of India. A big chunk of Muslim voters are in Hyderabad. They are up to 50 per cent or more in seven constituencies – all held by MIM in the dissolved Assembly.

MIM, which has its stronghold in the Muslim-majority Old City, is also contesting for another seat. The MIM has declared its support to the TRS in the rest of the state.The MIM president and Hyderabad MP, Asaduddin Owaisi, has also been addressing election rallies in some constituencies outside Hyderabad to campaign for the TRS. The People's Front has also given tickets to eight Muslim candidates, and the TRS has fielded two. The majority of the Congress' Muslim candidates are in the constituencies held by MIM. The BJP has also fielded two Muslim candidates in these constituencies.

Prominent among the Muslim candidates is MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, who is seeking a fifth consecutive term from Chandrayangutta. Senior Congress leader and former minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir is contesting from Kamareddy constituency. Mohammed Shakeel Aamir of TRS Party is seeking re-election from Bodhan in Nizamabad District. Taher Bin Hamdan of the Congress is contesting from Nizamabad Urban.

BY Mohammed Shafeeq