C R Gowri Shanker
Hyderabad: Cricketer-turned-Congress MP, Mohammad Azharuddin, has strong reasons to look for an alternative Lok Sabha constituency, in his home town, Hyderabad.
In the 2012 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress nominees in all the five Assembly segments in his Moradabad Lok Sabha constituency were routed, thus significantly weakening his chances for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. It is learnt that Azharuddin was unhappy over the party ignoring his choice of candidates.
Azharuddin’s meeting with the Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy in New Delhi have given rise to rumours that he may be fielded from Hyderabad, presently represented by MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. This has created a stir in political circles, but the MIM leadership is unfazed. “One cannot pick and choose opponents in politics. In a democracy, anyone can contest from anywhere, whether it’s Azharuddin or anyone else,” Owaisi told this newspaper over phone from New Delhi on Sunday, when asked about reports of Azharuddin being pitted against him in next polls. “We have no problem.” Ironically, it was Owaisi and the MIM that stood by Azharuddin when the latter was buffeted by charges of cricket match fixing in 2000 and banned for life by the Board for Cricket Control in India. Owaisi was also among the first to back the former cricketer when the AP High Court lifted the life ban in November last year. Azharuddin reportedly did not rule out contesting from Hyderabad after meeting the Chief Minister, but left the decision to the Congress High Command. Sources said he is hunting for a Muslim-dominated constituency, in West Bengal or Andhra Pradesh, among others. Azharuddin faces a tough battle if he is fielded for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, where the MIM has had a stranglehold since 1984. Sultan Salauddin Owaisi won the seat six times from 1984 to 2004 and Asaduddin Owaisi, his son, won twice in 2004 and 2009. In 2009, Owaisi defeated a prominent Muslim candidate, Editor of Siasat, Zahid Ali Khan, who was backed by the TD and allies, with a thumping majority. The last time the Congress won the Hyderabad LS seat was in 1980 when K.S. Narayana represented it. Kiran Kumar Reddy and the Owaisi brothers, Asaduddin and Akbaruddin, fell out after the MIM walked away from the Congress after the Bhagyalaxmi temple episode at Charminar. Since then, the Owaisis have bitterly criticised Kiran Kumar Reddy. Meanwhile, Akbaruddin Owaisi, MIM legislator, was arrested in a hate speech case and released recently on bail. Asaduddin Owaisi was arrested and sent to Sangareddy jail for manhandling and abusing Medak collector and other officials a few years back. The MIM suffered a dent over the Akbar issue, but recovered the lost ground after the senior Owaisi brother’s arrest, which was seen as “politically motivated.”
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