Former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin is all set to make his debut in the Telangana Assembly polls, with the Congress finalising his name as the candidate from Jubilee Hills constituency. This move sparked an exit by former MLA P Vishnuwardhan Reddy to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) after he was denied the ticket.
Apart from being a test for Azharuddin, an ex-MP, the Jubilee Hills constituency’s roughly 27% of Muslim voters might decide the outcome of the elections. It might become tough for Azharuddin if the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majilis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which has pledged to support the BRS in the upcoming November 30 polls, fields a candidate from the constituency.
In the 2018 state elections, the AIMIM fielded eight candidates, Rajendranagar included. Owaisi’s support, or decision to also contest in seats with a sizeable chunk of Muslim voters, is likely to have an impact against the Congress, which traditionally has been getting support from minority voters. Azharuddin will not just have to fight against the BRS’s two-term MLA Maganti Gopinath but will also have to vie for Muslim votes if AIMIM puts up a candidate.
“As per our surveys, voters are fed up with Vishnuvardhan Reddy. He has not seen much over the last five years and is known to be arrogant even when people come to meet him. Azhar was supposed to get the seat in the first list itself but senior leaders like our ex-president Uttam Kumar Reddy were still trying to get Vishnuvardhan the ticket,” said a senior Congress leader who will be working with Azharuddin on his campaign.
“If we have a good campaign, we can wrest from the BRS. Vishnuvardhan’s sister was also given a ticket by the Congress. Azhar is a known face, and at least some Muslims will vote for him. The AIMIM only wants to dent Congress votes,” said the Congress leader.
In the 2018 polls, Maganti Gopinath won the Jubilee Hills seat securing 68,979 votes, while then Congress candidate Vishnuvardhan came second with 52,975 votes. In third place was independent candidate Navin Yadav, who secured 18,000 votes. Navin was the AIMIM’s candidate during the 2014 Assembly elections and stood second with 41,656 votes. He had lost the seat to Maganti Gopinath, who was earlier with the Telugu Desam Party. Vishnuvardhan had won the seat in 2009.
“We will campaign well and make sure that Azharuddin will win the seat. He is not just any candidate but also a cricketer the city is proud of,” said Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin.
Azharuddin’s prospects of winning depend on whether the AIMIM will contest in Jubilee Hills. A senior AIMIM leader said the decision would be taken in a day or two. The AIMIM’s list has been delayed as it is likely to change the seats for a few of its sitting MLAs. “There will no doubt be a split in Muslim votes as Azharuddin will also get some of it. Navin Yadav is also a good candidate. Despite us not nominating him last time, he still managed to get 18,000 plus votes,” the AIMIM leader told TNM.
“Azharuddin is a new face, as he has only been an ex-MP from Uttar Pradesh earlier. Jubilee Hills today has rich people in it. Former Congress MLA and Vishnuvardhan father P Janardhan Reddy, used to be in touch with the poorest of the poor in the area. Now, the social profile of the seat has changed, and the existing BRS MLA is a rich person with links to wealthy people in the area. BRS seems to have better prospects. Azharuddin has no contacts with the Muslims in the area, so if BRS and AIMIM both contest, then it will be difficult for Congress,” said Prof E Venkatesu from the Political Science Department, University of Hyderabad.