Tejasvi Surya had called Asaduddin Owaisi the “modern Mohammed Ali Jinnah”. (Archive)
Hyderabad:
In the late 1990s, when SM Krishna and Chandrababu Naidu were chief ministers of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad’s effort to challenge Bangalore’s number one position in the information technology world was a constant headline in the pink newspapers.
That rivalry has been rekindled, but on the political stage. In the run-up to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections, Bangalore (south) MP Tejasvi Surya has engaged in a fierce battle with Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, attempting a “hostile takeover”.
His bitter, provocative and vitriol-filled narrative has come to define HPL 2020 (Hyderabad Political League).
Owaisi has often been accused of helping the BJP win seats by playing the role of a vote-cutter. The accusation is that his party’s candidates have cut the “secular vote”, as in Bihar recently. Although the electoral data does not fully confirm this, the anti-BJP parties led by Congress are convinced that this strategy results in mutual benefit for both Owaisi and the BJP.
Even the BJP denies it, but to make its mark in Hyderabad, the ruling party relies on the Owaisi factor.
Tejasvi Surya called the AIMIM MP the “modern Mohammed Ali Jinnah” who wanted to turn Hyderabad into “Hyderabad of Pakistan”. Mr. Surya alleged that Mr. Owaisi relied on the votes of Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Rohingya living illegally in the old city.
In response, Mr. Owaisi challenged the BJP to provide a list of “illegal” settlers within 24 hours. “These people need to have a little biryani to bring them back to consciousness,” he said at a public meeting.
At every campaign meeting, the Hyderabad MP has been urging voters in the old city to distrust the BJP’s designs and make sure they vote for their AIMIM party to protect their interests.
Although the BJP hopes to make inroads into certain districts with a significant Hindu population, drawing votes from Congress and the ruling TRS of Telangana, the strident BJP campaign is likely to help Owaisi hold on to his pocketbook.
Although civic elections are expected to focus on roads, water and sewer, this time a high-profile divisive campaign has brought social distancing of another kind.
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