Muslims seek their slice of pie

Warangal: Notwithstanding the fact that Muslim electorate is numerically strong enough to make a mark in several constituencies, other than Hyderabad in Telangana State, the truth is that political parties have very rarely gave an opportunity to that community.

Warangal East, Karimnagar, Khammam, Nizamabad Urban, Mahbubnagar and Zaheerabad are among those constituencies that have a strong minority presence. It is no overstatement to say that each of these constituencies have at least 30,000 Muslim electorate. It may be noted here that in the past the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) had plans to expand its base beyond its traditional stronghold of Hyderabad old city.

As the suspense over the candidate for Warangal East Assembly constituency continued, lobbying in the ruling TRS is also getting intense day after day with quite a few aspirants leaving no stone unturned to get the ticket that is for taking since the party reportedly refused to renominate the sitting MLA Konda Surekha.

After that initial euphoria surrounding Konda couple, the TRS aspirants who found an unforeseen opportunity to stake their claim for Warangal East ticket are now positioned themselves in the State capital Hyderabad, and are moven heaven and earth to project their credentials.

With the TRS high command buying time to zero in on candidate selection, it has not only set tongues wagging but also opened a window for the aspirants to buttress their claims by bringing forth all calculations and permutations of caste and community equations to convince the party chief K Chandrashekar Rao.

Although there are more than a half-a-dozen aspirants, some of them have come up with strong reasoning to force the leadership to consider their candidature. While former MP Gundu Sudha Rani, Gudimalla Ravi Kumar, former Minister Basavaraj Saraiah and Mayor Nannapaneni Narender are staking a claim under the Backward Castes category, Corporator Vaddiraj Ganesh wants the ticket under Brahmin quota.

Deputy Mayor Khaja Sirajuddin who has been with the party since its inception in 2001 came up with a strong contention that Muslim Minorities which has a considerable chunk of electorate in Warangal East constituency is not one to be disregarded. Sirajuddin, who claims himself as a TRS soldier contends that the Muslim Minorities which is numerically strong in Warangal East constituency can play a vital role in the outcome of the election.

Sirajuddin who worked in different capacities in the party is currently a member of Telangana State Haj Committee. Known as non-controversial, the 38-year-old Sirajuddin is also in Hyderabad like other TRS aspirants to project himself as a strong contender for the ticket with the help of Muslim minority leaders.

“The Muslim electorate is an added advantage to the TRS party that had recorded a resounding win Warangal East constituency in 2014 elections,” Sirajuddin told The Hans India, stating that in any case KCR’s word is final.

Speaking to The Hans India, Khousro Pasha, the seventh descendent of Afzal Biabani and the head of Kazipet Dargah, said: “We the community as a whole pledge to support and ensure victory of any Muslim candidate if given a ticket.”

It may be noted here that no Muslim candidate had become a lawmaker since Kamaluddin Ahmed who had worked thrice as MP and four times as MLA from the erstwhile Warangal district.