AIMIM to contest 60 seats in GHMC polls, confident of improving tally

In the last GHMC elections, the AIMIM won 44 and the TRS won 99 out of the 150 seats.
Asaduddin Owaisi
Asaduddin Owaisi
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In the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Elections in 2016, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) had contested 60 seats out of which they won 44 seats. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) won 99 seats, out of which 5 were in the old city division. Hyderabad’s old city has a 65% Muslim majority and 30% of the population are Hindus, as per the 2011 census. Old city has always been an AIMIM bastion.

Over the last couple of years, the TRS and the AIMIM have been known to be ‘friendly’ parties. However, in the last GHMC elections, TRS had fielded candidates even in AIMIM bastions. This time too, they have made it clear that they will contest all 150 seats and that compared to the last GHMC election, this time they will bring home a larger piece of the old city’s victory cake.

While addressing the media at a ‘Meet the Press’ event on Thursday, TRS working President K T Rama Rao said, “TRS has no alliance with MIM in the GHMC polls. TRS will contest in all the 150 divisions. Last time, TRS won five divisions in the Old City. This time, we will defeat MIM candidates and win at least ten divisions in the Old City. A TRS woman corporator will be made Mayor.”

Speaking to TNM, a senior party functionary of AIMIM said, “We will be contesting from 60 seats in the upcoming elections. We had won 44 seats in the last GHMC elections, this time we are confident of improving this number.”

According to him, the Congress has lost hopes of a revival and BJP is only hoping to regain the vote share it lost to TRS in the last GHMC elections. He also observed that around 10-15% of the minority votes had swung in TRS’ favour in the last elections. 

In the last elections, BJP has won Gowlipura, Ghansibazar and Begum Bazaar, which are in the Hyderabad Parliamentary constituency. While the Dubbaka bye-election victory has given them a much-needed shot in the arm, BJP is busy strategizing hoping to improve its tally in this election.

According to MIM, they will concentrate their efforts in places the party had either won or lost by a slender margin. Jambagh was one such constituency wherein the AIMIM candidate D Mohan won with a margin of 5 votes.

Once AIMIM announces its candidates, the Owaisi brothers are expected to undertake padayatras and campaign programs. According to the senior party functionary, AIMIM is extremely confident about around 40 seats which is considered the party’s stronghold.

With AIMIM confident of not only retaining its strongholds, but also adding to its tally, TRS working President’s declaration about the pink party defeating MIM candidates and winning 10 divisions in the old city has only intensified the battle.

The AIMIM party functionary concludes by saying, “Everyone enters a fight, hoping to win. Let them work hard, we will also do the same.”

READ: GHMC elections: Besides Owaisi’s AIMIM, newly-formed AIMIM (Inquilab) also in the fray

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