The secret behind Congress tsunami in Telangana

Hyderabad: The Karnataka Housing and Minorities Welfare Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan has been successful in pulling the Minority community votes towards the Congress Party in the just concluded Assembly polls in Telangana.

As per directions of the high command, he camped in Telangana for more than two weeks in advance and held several meetings with Muslim community leaders and party as well as the thinktank, which helped in the consolidation of the Muslim votes in 49 minority-dominated Assembly seats and ensured transfer of those votes to the Congress Party.

In an exclusive chat with Hans representative, Zameer said before coming to Hyderabad, he discussed the poll strategies with AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal, and had been in constant touch with AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi. This greatly helped in the diversion of the Minority votes to the Congress Party. Besides, he ensured the induction of MIM and BRS leaders into the Congress Party and gave a rude shock to those two parties.

He said the Bharat Jodo Yatra of Rahul Gandhi where he spread the message of ‘Mohabbatki Dukan,’ and the active participation of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the campaign along with the time to time guidance of Sonia Gandhi and AICC president MallkarjunKharge had helped the party win more seats in Telangana.

The winning of good number of seats in Bohdan, Ramagundam, Peddapalli, Balakonda, and Kondagal constituencies, and the consolidation of the minority community in Khammam, Warangal, and Nalgonda regions helped the Congress Party to come to power in Telangana, he said.

In the last two previous polls, the Muslim votes had been divided among the BRS and MIM but this time, except in the Greater Hyderabad, in all other districts, those votes have come to the Congress Party, Zameer said.

Expressing his happiness over the historic victory of Congress party in Telangana, Zameer Ahmed Khan said, "My heartiest thanks to the people of Telangana for giving a majority to the Congress Party to form the new government.

He said, “In the last ten years of the Modi government, they have not given adequate representation to the Muslim community. When we were in power in Karnataka from 2013-18, we gave five MLC posts and two Rajya Sabha members and good number of seats in Assembly elections as well.”

In the state of Telangana, where there are adequate Wakf property lands but nearly 74 percent of it has been encroached. We have implemented four out of five guarantees to the people of Karnataka. Whenever the Congress makes promises, it will certainly implement them, he added.