A number of Muslim leaders within the
congress are not very pleased with the party's choice of the candidate for the
hyderabad lok sabha seat. Following a meeting earlier this week, the party's central leadership selected
supreme court attorney Shahnaz Tabassum to challenge All
india Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM)
mp Asaduddin Owaisi, the current member of parliament.
But
telangana congress unit minority leaders are upset with their
party for not considering its senior leaders for the position. Tabassum is an active member of the
indian supreme court legal community. In addition, she founded the All
india Azaad
congress party and serves as its national president.
"Now that the AIMIM is on
revanth Reddy's side, he can focus on getting Muslim votes and enjoying a smooth ride." Everyone is aware of the party's amicable relations with Owaisi. But what about those who have been employed by the
party for several decades or even longer? Although Shahnaz Tabassum is a well-respected attorney, she is a stranger. She won't be able to fight, much less prevail," a senior
congress Muslim figure who wished to remain anonymous said.
‘Congress minority cell neglected’
According to a different Muslim official in the
telangana Pradesh
congress Committee (TPCC), the
party has also essentially abandoned the monitory cell. "Even though the
lok sabha election dates are known, all
district committee chairmen are still awaiting orders. It is not shocking that they gave the seat to an outsider because our minority cell itself is no longer in operation, he told
india Herald.
It should be recalled that Sheikh Abdullah Sohail, the former chairman of the Congress' minority cell, departed and joined the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) prior to the
assembly election of last year, leaving the cell without a leader. Then, he had said that the establishment
party had neglected to consider Muslim issues. As of now, his
job has not been filled.
Congress going soft on AIMIM?
Prior to this, a top member of the
tpcc had acknowledged that the
party was attempting to maintain good relations with the AIMIM and would not be fielding a strong candidate for the
hyderabad seat. Given that the AIMIM and the main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) had been in "friendly" ties, this was a remarkable development.
Owaisi has even publicly urged Muslims in the state to support the BRS in the past. The
congress minority
leader stated, "The issue is that the
congress does not have its own Muslim leadership in the state."
Given that Owaisi has turned into a scathing opponent of the establishment
party, the
congress first signaled that it may challenge the AIMIM after winning the
assembly elections last year. In fact, the
congress hinted that it would want to back MBT for the
hyderabad lok sabha seat after MBT
leader Amjadullah Khan almost defeated the AIMIM in last year's
assembly elections for the Yakutpura
assembly seat. Amjadullah Khan was defeated by just 878 votes for the seat.
But that proposal has also been abandoned. Since we are in power, we ought to easily receive one lakh votes, and Owaisi would have faced stiff opposition from a formidable Muslim opponent. But it's obvious that the
party isn't interested in it," the minority
leader stated. There are seventeen
lok sabha seats in
telangana, and the AIMIM has been the
winner of
hyderabad since 1984.
Owaisi received almost five lakh votes in 2019, with his nearest
bjp rival receiving 2.35 lakh votes.