BRS strikes the right chord with minorities in Telangana

This approach is now all set to help the BRS as the elections draw near. Muslim community voters will be crucial deciders of electoral fortunes in not less than 30 assembly segments in the State.

Hyderabad: As incidents of harassment and communal discrimination against minorities register a rise in several other States, minority communities in Telangana have seldom faced that situation, with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi government here paying focused attention to all sections of the society.

With inclusive growth and development being key words in the BRS glossary, minority communities, especially the Muslim community, have not been left out, with Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao striking the right chord with them. He has successfully shaped Telangana into a minority-friendly State where their safety and growth has been assured.

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This approach is now all set to help the BRS as the elections draw near. Muslim community voters will be crucial deciders of electoral fortunes in not less than 30 assembly segments in the State. Seven of the segments, in the Old City of Hyderabad, are traditional strongholds of the AIMIM, a friendly ally of the BRS. The remaining 23 seats where the Muslim voters account for more than 15 per cent are of considerable importance for the party.

Twin factors – The image of the BRS as a pro-minority political entity under a strong leadership with secular credentials and further strengthening of bonds with the AIMIM- are expected to pay rich dividends to the ruling party at the hustings. Even as minority voters have a sizable presence in 40 segments, their support in 23 of segments is viewed as all important for the BRS to romp home.

The BRS has been able to maintain friendly relations with the MIM during its first term in power from 2014-2018. The relations between the two parties were strengthened further and turned more pronounced during 2018 to 2023 with both the parties finding a common adversary in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre.

The BJP has been targeting both the BRS and MIM as part of its grand agenda to gain a firm foothold in the State. The BRS however stonewalled the BJP from making deep inroads much to the advantage of the MIM. In its battle for hegemony in its own bastion, the MIM could found a strong ally in the BRS to ward off the BJP from building any support bases in the twin cities.

The Congress, which has for quite some time been projecting itself as the champion of minorities, has been indulging heavily in MIM-bashing and in the process, has lost the faith of Muslim minorities, who remained loyal to the MIM outside the seven seats it had been holding in Hyderabad city.

Mohammed Ali Shabbir, who is the lone identifiable minority face in the Congress, is likely to be the main rival to Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, who will be contesting from the Kamareddy assembly constituency. Shabbir Ali had contested from Kamareddy as many as eight times, but won only two times. The YSR wave bailed out the Congress I including Shabbir Ali in 2004. Thereafter he continued to draw a blank.

The BRS could win the hearts of the minorities with its anti-BJP stand on the no confidence motion moved by the opposition. It also strongly opposed the BJP sponsored Uniform Civil Code. Popular schemes implemented by the State government such as Shaadi Mubarak, government assistance to minority students seeking to pursue higher studies overseas, the Rs.1 lakh financial aid to minorities, English medium schools for minority students have all taken the BRS closer to the minorities in a big way.

As for the constituencies, the MIM has held the Assembly seats of Bahadurpura, Charminar, Yakutpura, Malakpet, Nampally, Karwan and Chandrayangutta in 2009, 2014 and 2018. The minority vote share in these segments ranges from 50 percent to 85 percent.

The assembly segments of Goshamahal, Nampally, Sanathnagar, Musheerabad, Khairatabad, Jubilee Hills, Secunderabad cantonment and Amberpet – all in Hyderabad city have considerable presence of minority votes, ranging from 20 percent to 25 percent.

Besides this, the minority vote accounts for 15 to 20 percent in 15 other segments outside Hyderabad. These are Rajendranagar, Maheswaram, Nizamabad (Urban), Bodhan, Mudhole, Mahabubnagar, Sangareddy, Adilabad, Warangal East, Nirmal, Banswada, Karimnagar, Zaheerabad, Tandur and Vikarabad.