Telangana Congress questions Owaisi’s Muslim leadership pitch in Uttar Pradesh

Telangana Congress leader Mohammed Waliullah Sameer has questioned All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi’s call for Muslims in Uttar Pradesh to build independent political leadership, alleging that the party has not followed the same approach across Telangana.

Sameer, the Congress in-charge for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency, criticised Owaisi’s recent speeches urging Muslims to stop depending on established political families, including the Nehru-Gandhi and Yadav families, and develop leaders from within their own community.

In a statement, Sameer asked how many independent Muslim leaders AIMIM had developed beyond its traditional strongholds during decades of political influence in Telangana.

“Before giving this advice in Azamgarh or Rampur, he should tell us what happened to Abdul in Telangana,” Sameer said, questioning why Muslim leadership had not expanded beyond a limited number of constituencies.

Congress questions AIMIM’s electoral strategy

Sameer cited the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections, in which AIMIM contested nine of the state’s 119 constituencies. He questioned why the party did not field candidates in the remaining 110 seats if it believed Muslim youth were being denied opportunities by larger political parties.

He also alleged that AIMIM supported the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in most constituencies where it did not contest, arguing that this limited the space available for independent political leadership.

Sameer said there was no disagreement over the need for greater Muslim representation in legislatures, governments and local bodies. However, he questioned whether AIMIM had expanded that representation across the state or concentrated its political influence in a few constituencies.

He argued that Hyderabad should serve as an example of Owaisi’s political model, given AIMIM’s established presence in the city’s municipal politics and its representation in Parliament.

According to Sameer, broader political representation should also translate into opportunities for young people, women, professionals and first-generation political workers.

Owaisi’s appeal to Muslims in Uttar Pradesh

The criticism follows Owaisi’s recent speeches in Uttar Pradesh, where he urged Muslims to develop their own political leadership rather than depend on established political families and parties.

At a rally in Rampur, Owaisi used the example of “Abdul” to argue that Muslims should not remain limited to supporting other leaders without gaining political power themselves. He criticised a political arrangement in which, according to him, Muslims were expected to mobilise support for leaders from the Nehru-Gandhi family or Yadav political families.

Owaisi’s remarks come as AIMIM seeks to expand its political presence in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. The party has been attempting to strengthen its organisation and secure a larger role in the state’s electoral politics.

A wider contest over Muslim political representation

Sameer accused Owaisi of emphasising Muslim empowerment while expanding AIMIM into states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and West Bengal, without making comparable efforts to develop leadership across Telangana.

He said the party should demonstrate its commitment by creating opportunities for new leaders beyond its established constituencies. He also maintained that voters should assess political parties based on whether their strategies improve representation and address issues such as education, employment, housing, healthcare and civic infrastructure.

The remarks reflect a wider political contest between the Congress and AIMIM over who can best represent Muslim voters and whether independent community-based political leadership can expand without reinforcing existing political divisions.

The criticism, however, represents the Congress leader’s assessment of AIMIM’s record. The central question raised by Sameer is whether Owaisi’s call for independent Muslim leadership in Uttar Pradesh is consistent with AIMIM’s electoral strategy in its home state of Telangana.