Goshamahal: Whose seat is it, anyway?

Hyderabad: At a time when all the parties are buckling up and campaigning in full swing across Telangana, a look at Goshamahal constituency in the Old City, one of the 15 constituencies in Hyderabad district. It is unique as it took everyone by surprise when it elected the sole BJP MLA T Raja in the last election. Predominately a Hindu majority constituency, it is being represented by Singh for two consecutive terms now.

Polling is set for November 30. The candidates of three major parties--BRS, Congress and BJP--are slogging in the constituency. It is particularly important to see who wins this time as both the BJP and Congress are claiming they would wrest power in the State. The BRS has named Nand Kishore Vyas ‘Bilal’, while the Congress Mogili Sunitha, president, State Mahila Congress and advocate from Mudiraj caste. The BJP retained Singh after revoking his suspension from the party.

Interestingly Goshamahal forms part of the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency represented by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. But the party is not contesting the Assembly polls. Earlier, the segment had witnessed keen electoral tussle between the BJP and the Congress as the seat switched between them. The saffron party secured victory in both 2014 and 2018, whereas the Congress claimed the seat in 2004 and 2009. The constituency, formerly known as Maharajgunj, was won by the Congress in 1989, while the BJP emerged victorious in 1994 and 1999.

Demographically, Goshamahal is the hub of markets—Esamiabazar, Koti, Sultanbazar, Abids, Siddiamber Bazar, Osmangunj, MoazamJahi Market and Begum Bazar. The constituency has sizeable minority electorate, including 70,000 Muslims and 8,000 Christians. It also has a large “migrant” population, drawn mainly from North India. Among Hindi-speaking groups are Ahirs (Yadavas), Lodhas, Rajputs and Marwadis. Other major groups include SCs, BCs and upper castes, including Marathas.

This is an apparent reason why AIMIM never contested from here. Maharajgunj /Goshamahal has preponderant Hindu population. The Congress has alleged that AIMIM is not fielding a candidate in Goshamahal to enable the BJP win. The saffron leaders claim that the BRS and AIMIM, as also the Congress, have an “understanding” to trounce Singh.

It looks like the BRS is interested in fielding candidates who lost on tickets of other parties from the same constituency in the past. When the BRS (TRS earlier) contested in 2014, it fielded a rather weak candidate like Prem Kumar Dhoot, who only secured a meagre 6,000 votes. In 2018 the pink party fielded Prem Singh Rathore, a former BJP MLA, who lost to Singh, but managed to secure 32.23 percent votes. He was the BJP candidate in 2009 when he lost to Mukesh Goud of the Congress. Nand Kishore Vyas was an independent candidate in 2014 who managed to get 4.49 percent votes and stood third, above the then TRS candidate. Will he be able to unseat Singh or be a competitor to Sunitha for the runner-up position? Will Singh be able to retain his seat? It is not too long since he was suspended for his anti-Prophet utterances. But his suspension was revoked last month and he was re-nominated.

The Hindutva leader is known for his “hate speeches” and he faces 89 criminal cases for “outraging religious feelings.” He led the party to victory with 58.9 percent and 45.18 percent valid votes in 2014 and 2018 respectively. However, his foray into electoral politics began with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 2009 when he successfully contested the GHMC polls from Mangalhat division, which falls under Goshamahal segment.

Although he is ideologically inclined towards Hindutva, he has always had an uneasy relationship with the BJP State leadership; this continues to this day. In fact, since his joining the BJP in 2014, he had distanced himself from the party thrice on the grounds that it has not been doing enough for the Hindus and, more so, for cow protection. Currently, there are five BJP corporators and one AIMIM corporator in Goshamahal constituency.

The BRS has promised to transform Goshamahal into “Gachibowli” if voted to power. KTR also assured that upon BRS return to power, efforts would be made to restore the Osmania Hospital building and initiate work on revitalisation of Musi river, including construction of bridges. He criticised the Congress for allegedly fielding a weak candidate in Goshamahal, insinuating about a strategy to ensure BJP victory. He appealed to the Marwadi community to support Nandu Bilal, who shares their background.

It is going to be a triangular fight among the BJP, BRS and Congress. In case the BRS candidate is elected, he should make efforts to transform the constituency. The market areas of Goshamahal should be supported for growth. The backward areas should be developed on par with posh localities. If BJP retains the seat, then Singh must take up development to keep his support base intact.

He should not continue with his politics of ‘divide and rule’ and mend the relations between Hindus and Muslims. There are chances of Congress victory as it has fielded a new face this time.