Telangana Assembly Elections: Hyderabad capital region seeing largely triangular tussles

While the Hyderabad region is witnessing a triangular tussle, there is a four-way fight in some constituencies with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) contesting nine seats in the Old city.

Rangareddy: With less than three weeks to go, the spotlight on the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections rests firmly on around 32 urban and semi-urban constituencies in the Hyderabad capital region. These constituencies are poised to play a pivotal role in shaping electoral destinies, with political dynamics indicating a fierce triangular contest involving the Congress, BJP, and the reigning Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS, formerly the Telangana Rashtra Samithi). Will the BRS be able to cast its spell on Telangana once again?

While the Hyderabad region is witnessing a triangular tussle, there is a four-way fight in some constituencies with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) contesting nine seats in the Old city. As for the rest of the state, it is now evolving into a straightforward but bitter two-way clash between the Congress and the BRS. The resurgent Congress is increasingly becoming a formidable challenger to the BRS in over 70 constituencies. The Hyderabad region remains a hotly-contested terrain, with the AIMIM hoping to retain the seven seats it won in 2018.

“With its cosmopolitan touch (populace), Hyderabad’s results are always different from the rest of the state. But this time the Muslim vote may shift and the Congress is likely to gain,” said Sankara Rao, who migrated from Andhra Pradesh and settled in Nampally 15 years back.

The political narrative harks back to the 2018 elections, when the Mahakutami experiment faltered badly, giving the BRS a commanding 88 seats, and leaving the Congress with just 19. The alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) proved costly for the Congress, but the grand old party has witnessed a commendable resurgence in recent months, buoyed by victories in Karnataka and the anti-incumbency mood. It is now positioning itself as the primary opposition force against the ruling BRS, which is eyeing a hat-trick.

The electoral significance of the Hyderabad region lies in its 24 urban and 8 semi-urban constituencies surrounding the state capital. These areas, spanning Hyderabad and the erstwhile undivided Ranga Reddy district, encompass the IT corridor and host other industries and a diverse population, including early settlers from Andhra Pradesh and migrants from other states. With the TDP choosing not to contest the election, a notable influx of registered migrant voters may turn to the Congress.

Apart from the BRS, both the BJP and the Jana Sena Party (JSP), led by actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan, are eyeing these critical constituencies. The TDP won a majority of them in 2014 but in 2018, the BRS garnered the TDP’s vote base, securing 21 of the 32 seats, while the AIMIM got 7, Congress won three, and the BJP, one.

Apart from the 15 seats in Hyderabad, the battle for supremacy in this capital region includes Pattancheru (Sangareddy district), Medchal, Malkajgiri, Quthbullapur, Kukatpally, Uppal, (all Medchal Malkajgiri district), and LB Nagar, Rajendranagar, Serilingampally (all Ranga Reddy) in the urban sector. The semi-urban seats are Ibrahimpatnam, Maheshwaram, Chevella, Shadnagar (all Ranga Reddy district), Jadcherla (Mahabubnagar district), Pargi, Tandur and Vikarabad (all Vikarabad district).

However, the overall election landscape is expected to retain its two-way character with the BJP appearing to lose ground rapidly. Apart from the urban seats, the BJP looks like it is on a weak wicket. In a tie-up with the BJP, the Jana Sena Party (JSP) is contesting eight seats: Kukatpally, Uppal, LB Nagar, Malkajgiri, Serilingampally, Patancheru, Quthbullapur, and Sanathnagar, potentially further splintering the vote. The BJP is strong in Goshamahal, where it nominated the controversial Raja Singh, who won in 2014 and 2018. It has a huge migrant voter base, including the Lodha community from Gujarat and northern India. In Khairatabad, a tough fight is expected between sitting MLA and former minister Danam Nagendra of the BRS and Chintala Ramachandra Reddy of the BJP.

The seven seats in Old Hyderabad, namely, Charminar, Nampally, Chandrayangutta, Bahadurpura, Malakpet, Yakutpura, and Karwan, are considered strongholds of the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, once a key ally of the BRS. These constituencies stand as crucial battlegrounds. With the Telangana sentiment, which worked in the last two elections, petering out, issues such as unemployment, water and healthcare are gaining focus again.

In Hayathnagar Mandal in Ranga Reddy district, Bekkam Yadaiah, a graduate who drives a taxi, said: “BRS won two times based on Telangana sentiment. But people are now looking at real issues. A lot of youth are suffering from unemployment. Support for the Congress is increasing with the hope that change will bring good times.”

It is also to be seen which party will gain from the split in the Muslim vote, which was strongly behind the BRS-AIMIM combine the last time around. But the AIMIM is confident of winning all the seven again. “If you want to get freedom from hatred, and strengthen brotherhood then vote for AIMIM," Owaisi said at a public meeting last week.

The Congress nominated former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin to contest in Jubilee Hills. Azharuddin had won the Lok Sabha election from Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, in 2009, and is making his debut in his native Telangana state. He is considered a vote-puller. However, with the AIMIM entering the fray, the Muslim vote is likely to be split, benefitting the BRS’s sitting MLA, Maganti Gopinath, who won in 2014 on a TDP ticket.

In Secunderabad Cantonment, the BRS fielded Lasya Nanditha, daughter of sitting MLA late G Sayanna, a five-time lawmaker who passed away in February, to bank on the sympathy vote. In a strategic move, the Congress roped in Dr GV Vennela, daughter of popular late balladeer and poet Gaddar. Though both are expected to bank on their fathers’ legacy, the battle between these two first-timers is expected to be more on local development issues. “I would like to establish myself as ‘the MLA at your doorstep’. I am planning to open ward offices and we will be available from 9 am to solve the people’s problems,” said Vennela.

Hareesh, a mill worker, who travels every day by bus, said, “With most of the areas under military control, the roads are narrow, creating traffic jams and residents are deprived of regular development works.”

In Chandrayangutta, Akbaruddin Owaisi, sitting MLA and brother of Asaduddin Owaisi, is expected to win again. He has represented this seat from 1999.

In Nampally, Mohammed Majid Hussain, who served as the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Mayor from 2011-2014 and 2015-2020, is another veteran. But he will be contesting as an MLA from Nampally for the first time. Hussain played a key role in the AIMIM's good performance in the 2020 Bihar elections, but it is to be seen if the corporator from the Mehdipatnam Division can retain the seat for his party.

Ahmed Bin Abdullah Balala won Malakpet in the 2009, 2014, and 2018 elections, and is hoping for an encore. He was the corporator from the Pathergatti Division from 2002 to 2007. Over 52 per cent of the voters in the constituency are Muslims, and both the Congress and BRS are hoping to split the 1.5-lakh Muslim vote. Sitting MLA Kausar Mohinuddin, who has served Karwan for the past two terms, is also a strong AIMIM candidate.

The stage is set for the voters to script the destiny of many a stalwart on November 30, the polling date. The results will be counted and declared on December 3.