Hyderabad: Despite actively wooing minority communities with political incentives, the two major political parties—the Congress and the BRS—are caught in a dilemma regarding which way the crucial 1.4 lakh Muslim minority voters will lean in the upcoming Jubilee Hills by-election on November 11.

The Muslim minority vote shifted heavily towards the Congress during the 2023 Assembly election, which played a key role in the party forming the state government. However, the current situation is tricky for the Congress as city voters have historically favoured the BRS. This concern reportedly prompted the ruling party to grant Mohammed Azharuddin a cabinet berth.

The minority votes appear to be sharply divided between the ruling Congress party and the opposition BRS. Both parties are facing a dilemma as to whether they will secure a considerable number of votes from the minority, particularly the Muslim community, in the by-poll.

Political observers note that following a longstanding demand for minority representation in the Cabinet, the Congress appointed Azharuddin as Minister for Minority Welfare and Public Enterprises ahead of the by-polls, projecting this as proof of its commitment to minorities. The BRS, however, accuses the Congress of political tokenism, alleging that Azharuddin’s elevation was a calculated move purely for the by-election. Political analyst Mohammed Asif Hussain Sohailobserved that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is accompanying Azharuddin during his campaign to woo Muslim community votes.

Asif Hussain added that, apart from development and infrastructure, minorities require upliftment in terms of education, jobs, and employment. With Muslims constituting 1.4 lakh of the total 3.9 lakh voters, the community's vote will play a crucial role, a fact evident from the aggressive efforts by both Congress and BRS to woo these voters.

For Congress, the by-poll is about retaining dominance in the City, while for the BRS, it is an opportunity to prove its grassroots strength after losing power. BJP Union Minister G Kishan Reddy also weighed in, criticising Revanth Reddy for allegedly becoming a slave to the Majlis Party in the state and calling him a ‘Ji-Huzur’ in his attempt to win in Jubilee Hills and save his party’s reputation.

Meanwhile, the AIMIM is backing the Congress party nominee V Naveen Yadav and has been actively campaigning in the minority-dominant areas of Jubilee Hills. The MIM had fielded Shaikpet corporator RashedFarazuddin in the 2023 elections, who received some 7,800 votes.

BRS working president K T Rama Rao alleged that the Congress is treating minorities as a mere vote bank and accused the party of cheating the minorities by failing to implement its Minority Declaration. He stated: “Two years ago, it said it would allocate Rs 4,000 crore annually for minority welfare and introduce a Minority Sub-Plan. But both these promises were broken. Two years have passed, and even in the next three years, they will not be able to deliver anything,” he asserted.

Moreover, in an attempt to woo voters, Revanth Reddy recently met with religious leaders, who urged the Chief Minister to introduce a separate minority sub-plan, similar to the SC/ST sub-plan, in the state budget and also requested him to protect Wakf properties.

In the 2023 Assembly elections, Congress candidate Azharuddin received 64,212 votes. The winner, BRS’s Maganti Gopinath, polled 80,549 votes, and BJP’s Lankala Deepak Reddy got 25,866 votes. The MIM candidate, RashedFarazuddin, received 7,848 votes.