The AIMIM candidate polled 63 votes, while the BJP nominee garnered 25 votes.
Published Apr 25, 2025 | 12:59 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 25, 2025 | 12:59 PM
AIMIM's Mirza Riyaz Ul Hasan Effendi won the Hyderabad LAC MLC seat. (Instagram)
Synopsis: AIMIM’s Mirza Riyaz Ul Hassan Effendi won the Hyderabad Local Authorities MLC seat, defeating BJP’s Goutham Rao by 38 votes. The BRS boycotted the election to avoid a likely defeat, signaling its weakened position after recent losses. BJP contested to challenge AIMIM and project itself as the sole opposition. Congress participated without fielding a candidate.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidate Mirza Riyaz Ul Hassan Effendi won the election to the Telangana Legislative Council from the Hyderabad Local Authorities Constituency on Friday, 25 April.
He defeated BJP nominee N Gautam Rao by a margin of 38 votes. The election could have been unanimous, as has been the case for the past 22 years, but the BJP decided to contest despite not having the requisite numbers. The AIMIM candidate polled 63 votes, while the BJP nominee garnered 25 votes.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) boycotted the election. Party working president KT Rama Rao had earlier stated that the party was staying away from the election as it neither had the numbers nor could it support either the BJP or the AIMIM. The BRS issued a whip instructing its voters to abstain from voting. The Congress, though it did not field a candidate, participated in the election.
The BRS is understood to have chosen not to contest because a defeat—considered inevitable—might create a narrative that the party is on a losing streak, which it cannot afford at a time when it is trying to recover from recent electoral setbacks.
The party seems to have taken this decision with a long-term strategy in mind to regain its lost ground. At this point, contesting and losing would only add fuel to the ruling Congress’ claim that the BRS is on a downward slippery slope.
Meanwhile, the BJP, despite lacking the numbers, fielded Goutham Rao, forcing an election for the seat for the first time in 22 years. The BJP appears to have entered the fray to build a narrative that it is the only party standing up to the AIMIM to protect the interests of Hindus.
Also, this gives the BJP moral leverage to accuse both the BRS and Congress of colluding with the “communal” AIMIM.
The party-wise breakdown of voters in the election is as follows:
The voters included several corporators of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), MLAs, MPs, and MLCs from Hyderabad. The seat will fall vacant after the expiry of the term of incumbent BRS MLC MS Prabhakar on 1 May 2025.
The BRS’s fortunes began to wane in the 2020 GHMC elections, where it won only 56 of the 150 corporator seats. This was largely due to the BJP, under then-state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, making significant inroads into the BRS’s voter base. The AIMIM won 44 seats, while the Congress finished with a humiliating tally of just two.
Since then, the BRS’s prospects have continued to decline. It lost power in the state in 2023 after an unexpected drubbing at the hands of the Congress, which had been quietly gaining strength. Following its victory in the Assembly elections, the Congress became more aggressive, while the BJP, also showing signs of growth, quickly occupied some of the BRS’s political space.
In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP and Congress split 16 of the 17 seats between them, leaving Hyderabad to the AIMIM.
After the Lok Sabha polls, the BRS appeared severely weakened, prompting several BRS corporators—including prominent figures like Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi and Deputy Mayor Mothe Srilatha Reddy—to defect to Congress, seemingly having lost faith in the pink party. This significantly reduced the BRS’s strength.
Another reason cited by the BRS for skipping the election was that it was now more focused on its plenary session scheduled for 27 April in Warangal. The party is also said to be preparing for by-elections, which it believes are inevitable due to the likely disqualification of 10 BRS MLAs who joined the Congress. The BRS’ petition for their disqualification is currently before the Supreme Court.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
