The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Telangana Muslim Organisations declared conditional support for the Congress. It said if the party fails to implement the promises, the JAC would reconsider its decision in the Lok Sabha elections.
Team Clarion
HYDERABAD — The poll machinery in Telangana was set in motion on Wednesday with the beginning of the home voting process in the state, part of the larger exercise at the hustings set for November 30.
In a historic move, the Election Commission introduced the home voting facility for senior citizens and persons with disabilities ahead of the upcoming elections. On Wednesday, 91-year-old Annapurna Chunduri became the first voter to utilise this service in the Khairatabad constituency. Election officers and police collected her postal ballot at her residence.
With just over a week to go for the polling, all eyes are on Muslims, who constitute nearly 13 per cent of the state’s 3.26 crore voters. The ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the opposition Congress are going all out to woo Muslims, considered a key factor in 40 out of the 119 assembly constituencies.
The BRS, which is aiming for a hat-trick in power, is confident that Muslim voters will once again back it while a resurgent Congress is expecting a repeat of Karnataka, where Muslims played a key role in bringing it to power. On Tuesday, the party got a shot in the arm as the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Telangana Muslim Organisations declared support for the Congress, convinced that it would pave the way for the defeat of the BJP in the general elections next year.
The JAC, accordingly, appealed to all the Muslims in the state to unite and vote for the Congress. “We believe that this decision will serve as a tool in exerting pressure on the Congress to implement the promises in the Minorities’ Declarations within six months of coming to power,” JAC state convenor Syed Saleem Pasha said in a statement.
Saleem Pasha said that the JAC’s support to Congress in the next Lok Sabha elections will depend on the party’s commitment to implementing all the promises in its Minorities Declaration. The JAC, on 9 July, had issued the Muslim Declaration, outlining a set of 22 major demands aimed at fostering the advancement and progress of the Muslim community.
Civil liberties activist Prof. G. Haragopal and the late Zahiruddin Ali Khan, managing director of Siyasat daily, had issued the Muslim Declaration.
A meeting of the heads of the state committee and district committees of the JAC held in Hyderabad on 11 November expressed the opinion that all Muslims are leaning toward the Congress in the state and that it would be prudent to support the party in the upcoming elections.
The BRS is pinning its hopes on its friendly party All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), a dominant player in Hyderabad politics and which has considerable influence among the community in the rest of the state. The Asaduddin Owaisi-led party is contesting nine seats, including the seven it holds, while in the remaining constituencies it is backing its friendly party BRS. Barring seven seats which AIMIM has been winning since 2009, Congress has given tickets to only two Muslim candidates while sitting MLA Mohammed Shakil Aamir is its lone Muslim candidate.
Muslim United Forum which comprises some Muslim socio-religious groups considered close to AIMIM has also declared support to the BRS. However, some other groups have come out in support of the Congress party. There are some other groups who have not taken a clear stand.
The JAC criticised the AIMIM for supporting the ruling BRS, “which has established a political alliance with the BJP.”
The BJP has also been criticised by the JAC for its implementation of citizenship regulations like those of the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizen’s Amendment Act (CAA).
The BJP, it noted, is propagating animosity against the Muslim community across the country. It said the Muslim community is steadfast in its efforts to overthrow the BRS administration which has been supporting the BJP’s anti-national legislation.
The BJP, the JAC pointed out, lacks in moral principles and is exhibiting authoritarian tendencies, promoting religious biases, and displaying elements reminiscent of fascism. The JAC felt that the re-election of the BJP posed a significant threat to the integrity of the Constitution of India.
However, the allegation by the Congress party that there exists a secret understanding between the BJP, BRS and AIMIM may impact the opinion in some sections of the community. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have been targeting AIMIM for helping BJP by fielding its candidates in states where the Congress is locked in direct fight with the BJP to divide Muslim votes and defeat Congress candidates.
The BRS, during its poll campaign, is highlighting maintenance of peace and communal harmony as a major achievement to seek the support of Muslims.
During election rallies in constituencies with good concentration of Muslim voters, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and his son and BRS working president Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao are speaking in Urdu to explain how their party is maintaining ‘Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb’.
The BRS leaders are also cautioning people that power to Congress may push the state back into the era of communal clashes and curfews.
The BRS also claims to have spent Rs 12,780 crore on minority welfare in 10 years. It says the minority welfare budget which was Rs 1,030 crore in 2014-15 increased to Rs 2,200 crore in 2023-24.
The emerging scenario is baffling for political pundits across the state. Whether Muslim voters continue to back BRS or switch their support to Congress for a change of guard remains a million-dollar question.
Political experts point out that the situation in Karnataka can’t be compared with Telangana. During its rule in Karnataka, the BJP vigorously pushed forward its Hindutva agenda with ban on hijab and controversies like halal and “Love Jihad”. Moreover, there was no alternative for Muslims in Karnataka. However, Telangana is a different ball game. Ever since the formation of Telangana state in 2014, it is ruled by BRS, which has a secular image and the state under its rule has been free from any major communal riot or issues like mob lynching, hijab or halal.
There are clear apprehensions that should the Muslim vote is divided between the Congress and BRS-AIMIM combine, it would be a boon for the BJP, at least in constituencies where a split would render the Muslim votes inconsequential.
