Telangana: Muslim vote can tip scales in seven Lok Sabha constituencies

HYDERABAD: As the demand for giving at least 4-5 Lok Sabha seats to candidates from Muslim community intensifies, their vote in the April 11 election is going to be decisive for both K Chandrasekhar Rao’s TRS as well as the grand-old Congress party.


The TRS is gung-ho on winning the hearts of Muslim riding high on steps taken by KCR to uplift them educationally and economically.

At the same time, the Congress believes its slogan of saving the country by ousting a BJP-led alliance will click this time round.

The big question, however, remains: Will Muslim voters sail with TRS in the backdrop of KCR’s none-too-pleasing hobnobbing with PM Narendra Modi? “TRS has been solidly supporting the BJP on demonetisation, GST and other issues. It’s clear that a vote for the TRS is a vote for Modi and BJP and Muslims know this well,” argues AICC spokesperson Dasoju Sravan.

But, Majlis party MLC Syed, Aminul Hasan Jafri, has a different take on this.

“Muslim voters will back TRS due to the government’s welfare schemes. Also, there was not a single communal incident in past five years,” he says. It’s a fact that a majority Muslims — a traditional votebank of Congress — have gravitated towards the TRS and the December assembly poll result confirms this.

TRS spokesperson, Abid Rasool Khan, said Muslims don’t trust Congress and hate BJP. “In Telangana, Muslims feel safe and secure under KCR-led TRS rule,” he said.

Despite the euphoria, political observers caution that it would be a challenge for the TRS to retain the Muslim votebank given that they would not like to vote for a party which directly or indirectly helps or strengthens the hands of Modi-led BJP.