All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has dropped two sitting members of Assembly giving an opportunity to new faces in the list of seven candidates released on Monday.
MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, who will seek re-election for third consecutive term from Hyderabad lok Sabha constituency, informed the media that he was fielding two new candidates from Nampally and Karwan Assembly constituencies in Hyderabad. While Kausar Mohiuddin will be contesting from Karwan in place of incumbent Afsar Khan, former deputy mayor of Hyderabad Meraj Hussain will be contesting from Nampally in place of Virasat Rasool Khan.
Sources said that Afsar Khan was dropped on the grounds of ill-health. Kausar Mohiuddin is husband of party’s corporator from Nanalangar in the city.
Other five, who have been re-nominated from their respective constituencies are, Akbaruddin Owaisi (Chandrayangutta), Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri (Charminar), Amad Balala (Malakpet), Mumtaz Ahmad Khan (Yakutpura) and Moazzam Khan (Bahadurpura).
MIM, which had seven members in the outgoing Assembly, was going all out to increase its strength this time by contesting at least 15 Assembly seats. It was likely to announce the candidates for Jubilee Hills and Rajindernagar in Hyderabad and a few constituencies in Kurnool and Anantapur districts of Rayalaseema region.
In lok Sabha apart from Hyderabad, the stronghold of the party, MIM was also likely to contest from Secunderabad. Hyderabad mayor Majid Hussain was likely to be party’s candidate from Secunderabad where the BJP was likely to field either former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya and or the State party president G Kishan Reddy.
As far as Hyderabad was concerned, the MIM has been winning the seat without any break from 1984. While Salahuddin Owaisi won the seat in six record elections, his successor and elder son Asaduddin Owaisi won the seat in 2004 and 2009.
In the last elections Asaduddin won the seat by a margin of nearly 1.15 lakh votes by defeating Zahed Ali Khan of Telugu Desam party. Khan, editor of renowned Urdu daily Siasat and politburo member of the TDP recently, announced his retirement from active politics after it became clear that the party president N Chandrababu Naidu was keen for an alliance with the BJP.
MIM has defeated many BJP leaders including party’s former president M Venkaiah Naidu and Baddam Balreddy.If the BJP and the TDP reach an understanding, they are likely to field a strong candidate in bid to capture the prestigious seat; the name of famous film director Ramgopal Verma is also doing the rounds as a possible contestant. MIM sees a chance of wresting Secunderabad as the constituency which has 42 per cent Muslim votes.