Hyderabad: Major pol parties biding time to name candidates for Nampally

Hyderabad : Even as AIMIM, BRS, and BJP are yet to finalise the contender for the Nampally constituency, Congress candidate Feroz Khan is trying to make inroads into the AIMIM’s stronghold. As the Assembly elections draw near, the focus has shifted to the Nampally segment, where speculations are widespread about the candidates who will contend for the seat. The choice of candidate has become a subject of much debate and murmuring among people in the constituency.

The friendly alliance between BRS and AIMIM has forced the BRS to keep on holding the name of a contender from Nampally, however, the BJP has been looking for a strong contender to fight the segment. The Nampally constituency is the only seat that falls in the Secunderabad parliamentary constituency and has a sizeable chunk of non-Muslim voters, (around 40 per cent) and is one of the bastions of AIMIM and the only seat in the parliamentary constituency.

The Congress has named vocal critic Feroz Khan as its candidate from the segment, while the AIMIM is mulling over replacing the present MLA Jaffar Hussain Meraj. However, there is a lack of prominent faces in other parties.

The MIM rival candidate Feroz Khan has turned out to be the only contender who is giving competition to the Majlis MLA for the last three terms. In 2009, Feroz Khan fought elections for the PrajaRajyam Party, from the Telugu Desam Party in 2014, and from Congress in 2018. Though he has been shifting to different parties and stood second, he is the only contender against Majlis.

As per the political analysts, turncoat might be a major reason for him to lose the battle. While BJP and BRS contenders remain constrained over the winnability factor, political analysts feel, as per the last three Assembly elections, the AIMIM’s toughest opposition is Feroz Khan, who has been fighting with three different parties each time. “This year, he has been fighting with Congress. It will be a tough contest between the MIM and the Congress in this election,” said Asif Hussain Sohail, political analyst. Asif said the present MLA Jaffar Hussain has been a prominent face in the constituency.

He has been winning with a majority of votes for the last two terms. However, speculation surrounds that former Mayor Majid Hussain is poised to enter the race from Nampally. “If Majid Hussain has been given the ticket, the AIMIM can win the seat, as Majid Hussain has a face and is a prominent leader, a former Mayor, and was a corporator from Ahmed Nagar division and presently represents from Mehdipatnam division. He has been in the party and working as an in-charge in Bihar and other States during elections,” said Asif Hussain.

“Had the AIMIM nominated even a new face, people would have voted for the party, because every vote was a vote for AIMIM and Owaisi brothers. The AIMIM is confident of retaining its traditional vote bank in their bastions,” feels Asif.