Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi is set to change the political landscape in the districts with Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s announcement of a friendly alliance with AIMIM party in the upcoming assembly elections. The BRS Supremo aims to mobilize support from Muslim voters with the help of MIM, while the BRS will offer support to MIM in its stronghold assembly segments in old Hyderabad city.
MIM already has a presence in many urban-dominated assembly segments. This move by KCR is aimed at consolidating Muslim voter support in the elections. Muslim religious organizations have already shown support for BRS after the government announced benefits for the welfare of the Muslim community and increased honorarium for Muslim clerics.
There were concerns about the Muslim vote bank shifting to Congress, but KCR’s recent announcement of financial assistance to poor Muslims has garnered great support from the entire Muslim community. The support from MIM will further strengthen the BRS’s hold on Muslim voters in the elections. Several assembly segments, such as Nalgonda, Nizamabad (urban), Khammam town, and Mahbubnagar, have a Muslim population of over 30%.
In the 2018 assembly elections, Muslims, who made up about 10% of the total voters in the state, gave a mandate to BRS, resulting in the party winning 89 seats with over 45% of the total vote share. KCR aims for another landslide victory in the 2023 assembly elections and recognizes the importance of Muslim support for BRS. Special meetings with Muslims are being planned in every assembly segment during the election time.
BRS will assist MIM in Nampally and Goshamahal assembly segments where Congress and BJP pose a strong opposition. The announcement of BRS candidates in these segments is on hold until an understanding is reached with Owaisi and the party leadership.
