Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi met with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) on Thursday at the latter's official residence (Pragati Bhavan). The meeting assumed political significance as the state capital is getting ready to witness Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections later in December. Both the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) have been political allies ever since the formation of the state of Telangana.
Owaisi drove to KCR's residence in his car where he reportedly held a meeting with the CM, which lasted for more than 30 minutes. While TRS fell in an introspection mode after an unexpected loss ahead of GHMC elections in Dubbaka bye-election, which was necessitated due to demise of its sitting MLA Solipeta Ramalinga Reddy, AIMIM recently expanded its base in Bihar by bagging the five seats during the state’s Assembly election.
In the meeting, the duo is said to have discussed the prospects of winning and seat-sharing in the GHMC elections. The GHMC has as many as 150 divisions. In the last elections, TRS had bagged 99 seats while the AIMIM clinched 44, leaving remaining to other parties.
The BJP, which won with an unexpected thin margin in Dubbaka bye-election, is gearing up to capture the TRS-AIMIM bases in Hyderabad. Meanwhile, the social media wings of the political parties have already begun digital campaigns for GHMC elections.
The recent devastating floods, which have affected Hyderabad and urban infrastructure to a large extent, are going to be the main issue that is expected to play out in the GHMC elections.
Both TRS and AIMIM had differences over TRS's proposal to accord Bharat Ratna to former Prime Minister PV Narsimha Rao and renaming the University of Hyderabad after him. However, insiders pointed out that those "perceptional" differences will not affect their camaraderie.
It is yet to be known whether TRS and AIMIM would have a pre-poll alliance or post-poll alliance. Reports are suggesting that the state Election Commission officials will release the notification after the Deepavali festival.