Telangana Assembly election: Representation of Muslims in House may remain same
Hyderabad: No Muslim woman candidate has won the Assembly elections after 1957. Only two Muslim woman candidates Shajahan Begum and Masooma Begum were elected from Shadnagar and Pathergatti constituencies.
Muslims in Telangana state are upset over the attitude of political parties in fielding Muslim candidates considering their population.
The ruling TRS fielded only two Muslims, Shakeel (Bodhan) and Inayat Ali Baqari (Bahadurpura) while the Congress declared the names of Mohammed Ali Shabbir (Kamareddy), Feroz Khan (Nampally), Mohd Gouse (Charminar) and Isa Misri (Chandrayanagutta) so far.
Though TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy had earlier promised that it would allocate 14 constituencies for Muslim candidates, observers predict that the party has only three slots left in Hyderabad which are Karwan, Bahadurpura and Yakutpura. There might be one more from Warangal (East) if that seat is given to the Congress in the seat adjustment.
The BJP fielded two candidates Shahzadi Begum (Chandrayangutta) and Haneef Ali (Bahadurpura) so far.
The Telugu Desam announced the name of Muzaffar Ali Khan for Malakpet constituency. It seems that only Kamareddy and Bodhan are the constituencies which are outside Hyderabad and where Muslim candidates of major political parties will not be confronting each other in electoral battle.
It is learnt that the Congress and Telangana Jana Samiti are bargaining for Warangal (East) and in case it goes to the Congress, then it will field a Muslim candidate Gulam Afzal Biyabani @ Khusro Pasha former Chairman Waqf Board.
In Telangana’s first Assembly elections, only eight Muslim members were elected to the house and out of them, seven belonged to AIMIM and the other one was the lone MLA from the ruling TRS.
No Muslim candidates from other political parties were elected. Even if all the Muslim candidates win the forthcoming elections, the maximum number of elected Muslim representatives will not cross 10. And 10 seats seems impossible.
In the united Andhra Pradesh Assembly, the number of Muslim MLAs elected in 2009 was 11. And that has been the maximum so far.
Ten were elected in 2004,1999, 1994 and 1972. Yakutpura, Charminar and Chandrayangutta and now Bahadurpura are the constituencies from where no Muslim candidates have won so far.
Historically, only two Muslim women Shajahan Begum and Masooma Begum of the Congress were elected from Shad Nagar and Pathargatti constituencies for the first Assembly of Andhra Pradesh in 1957.
