After Masqati, more may jump on Congress bandwagon

Hyderabad: Following well-known businessman and former TDP leader Ali Bin Ibrahim Masqati joining the Congress recently in the presence of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, scores of leaders from the Old City, mostly from TDP, will be following suit. Encouraged by the development, several leaders who are weighing options are meeting him to find what is there for them, if they shift loyalties.

As political circles keenly watch the developments, the Congress, which is making foray into the AIMIM bastion, has continued to project itself as the party which will form the next government. This image has rekindled the aspirations for scores of TDP leaders who have remained in the party for years.

According to sources, those, who were active and represented the party for the past several years while resisting the lure from AIMIM and other parties including Congress, are now disappointed. They have alleged that the party high command has left them high and dry, at the mercy of Telangana leadership.

Accusing the Telangana TD president KasaniGnaneshwar has done more damage to the party in a short period, the leaders considered close to Masqati will follow suit in a few days. “There is change in the air and Ali Masqati’s is a calculated move. As the TTDP has let us down and completely ignored by giving positions to members of family and friends; we will be following in his footsteps,” said a State-level TDP minority leader.

“After Masqati joined, leaders from different constituencies, including Nampally, Chandrayangutta, Yakutpura, Charminar, Bahadurpura, Karwan and even Musheerabad are making a beeline to his place. There won’t be major decision-making in this direction, given the Ganesh festivities. However, once it is over there will be a big programme in which several senior politicians will be joining Congress,” he added.

The names making rounds include former corporator Muzaffar Ali Khan who while contesting from Malakpet in 2018 lost after getting 29,769 votes and stood as a runner-up. It is believed that Masqati, whose popular dairy company has thousands of employees, already has at least 20,000 votes with him.

“His is a well thought out decision. With some 3,500 employees working for him he will be influencing at least 20,000-25,000 votes, besides local Arabs, given his Arab background, who constitute about 10 per cent in the Charminar constituency alone,” said Md Musa Qasim, a local Congress leader.