Ending a long suspense, the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) supremo Asaduddin Owaisi reportedly announced that his party would contest from the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat in addition to fielding candidates from other Assembly constituencies.
He declared MIM’s expansion plans public at a key meeting at Mallepally, where he also declared the MIM would also field candidates from Jubilee Hills, Rajendernagar, Adoni and Nizamabad for Assembly. Sources say the seven Assembly segments within the Secunderabad parliamentary constituency Musheerabad, Amberpet, Khairtabad, Jubilee Hills, Sanathnagar, Nampally and Secunderabad consists of an estimated Muslim population between 25 per cent and 60 per cent which can make the party a strong contender.
This announcement comes as no surprise as Asaduddin Owaisi has been pressing party cadre to ensure that polling percentage which is now at a meager 54 per cent in Hyderabad Assembly constituency should increase substantially. Analysts say that if the MIM fields strong candidates, then the party will But it is also being said that MIM is only using this announcement as a bargaining chip to secure more Assembly seats from the Congress and threaten all other parties.