Today marks the voting for a Legislative Council seat in Telangana. The election is being held at the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation headquarters for the Hyderabad Local Authorities seat. Vote counting will happen on April 25. An interesting aspect of the MLC elections in Hyderabad is that neither the ruling party nor the historically dominant party have fielded candidates. The competition in this election stands between candidates from Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM).
Congress Backing Owaisi's Party?
In the election for the GHMC MLC seat, the ruling Congress is reportedly supporting Asaduddin Owaisi's party. The GHMC Legislative Council seat has seen control first by AIMIM-Congress and then by the BRS-Congress. Although Congress has not won this seat in the past two elections, its role has been pivotal in the victories.
This time, there was speculation that the ruling Congress would field candidates, but they kept a distance from the electoral scene, and there were talks of supporting Owaisi's party. However, Telangana Congress President B. Mahesh Kumar Goud denied any support for Owaisi's party.
112 Voters to Cast Ballots
The election for the GHMC MLC seat involves 112 voters. Politically, Owaisi's party holds the majority. AIMIM has 49 votes, BJP has 25, and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has 24 members. Congress, along with supporting members, has a tally of 14. In a scenario where a hundred percent polling occurs, 57 votes will be required to secure a win. Neither AIMIM nor BJP has this number outright.
In an alternate scenario, if Congress, its supporters, and BRS abstain, only 74 votes will be cast. In that case, securing 37 votes will guarantee a win. Owaisi's party, with 49 votes, will have its win assured. Perhaps this is why BJP leaders are accusing BRS and Congress of aiding Owaisi's party by not fielding candidates.
Candidate Lineup: Who Stands for Whom
In the MLC election for the GHMC seat, Owaisi's party has nominated Mirza Riyaz ul Hasan Effendi. The AIMIM candidate Effendi faces off against BJP's Dr. N. Gautam Rao. Currently, M.S. Prabhakar is the MLC from this seat, with his term ending on April 29.
