Khatron ki Ghanti for AIMIM in old city, may lose two seats to Cong

•  Voters demand development, discontent with underdevelopment and poverty
• AIMIM accused of not addressing developmental issues
•  Congress likely to grab Malakpet and Nampally constituencies
• Old City plagued by high poverty, unemployment, and lack of education

Hyderabad: November 30 will prove to be a crucial day for the AIMIM. The party which has been holding its sway all these years over the seven Assembly seats in city this time is likely to face anti-incumbency factor.

All these years AIMIM had always maintained that theirs was the only party which does not require a manifesto as all its leaders were always with the people and the party knows what they want. But this time, it appears that the party may face a set back as muslim voters who feel that there has not been much development in these assembly segments as compared to the neighbouring colonies and constituencies are likely to support Congress party.

According to C-Voter survey report, AIMIM may not get more than 5 out of 7 seats. A ground check indicates that the traditional vote bank of the majlis may this time opt for Congress party. They do not hide their unhappiness over continued under development of their areas. The AIMIM has so far not even finalised their candidates for Charminar, Yakutpura, Bahadurpura, Malakpet, Chandrayangutta, and Karwan in Hyderabad parliamentary and one seat Nampally in Secunderabad parliamentary constituency.

In these segments, according to data available, about 60 per cent of the population belong to muslim community. According to the observers, AIMIM leaders have created an atmosphere wherein people are asked to vote for them without asking any questions about their performance.

Consequently, the majority in the Old City continue to struggle with poverty, and underdevelopment. The voters who are now more educated and as there is greater awareness, want development on part with other parts of the city and hence are looking for someone who could usher in development. As Muslims may not vote for BJP and may not even vote in favour of BRS since it has a friendly alliance with AIMIM, they feel that Congress was a better option for them.

Hence the elections in these 7 constituencies assumes importance. It appears that MIM may lose the Malakpet and Nampally constituencies to Congress say local leaders and people.

Mohammed Ahmed a local leader said “MIM has no major influence in Telangana beyond the Old City of Hyderabad. This time the voters are comparing the Old City areas with the new city areas and feel that they need a change. “People want to vote for a party that would work for development of old city,” he said.

People alleged that the MIM has been exploiting the poor people of the Old City for decades and diverting attention from their failures. Mohammed Mudassir, a resident of Old city said, “By lacking various infra developments, people will shift to the Congress, as major issues were raised by the Congress party in recent times and is the only opposition in Old city.” He also pointed out that the MIM has not been able to get metro rail connectivity to the Old City.”

“Despite their decades-long rule, why does the Old City of Hyderabad remain backward?” asked Fasihuddin, another resident.

As per the various reports, “23 per cent of Hyderabadi people are poor, almost 13 per cent of the population of Old City falls in Below Poverty Line (BPL) category, 4.3 lakh BPL people in Telangana live in the core city area, 16 per cent of children in Hyderabad did not attend schools due to poverty, only 6.1% of Muslims living in slums of Hyderabad have salaried jobs. The Old City has the highest population of unemployed people in the entire state.