In all the previous elections, the AIMIM fielded its candidate, securing between 20,000 and 30,000 votes, while the rest of the Muslims split between the BRS and the Congress.
Published Oct 23, 2025 | 11:00 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 23, 2025 | 12:49 PM
AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi addressing an election rally. (X)
Synopsis: The Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM in Telangana announced its support for the Congress in the upcoming Jubilee Hills by-election. The bypoll result is significant for several reasons for all three big players – Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao and the BJP — and the Muslim votes are crucial in deciding the winner.
Will the support extended by the All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) prove to be the swing factor in favour of the ruling Congress in the ensuing by-election to the prestigious Jubilee Hills Assembly Constituency in Hyderabad? This is the question being debated in political circles after AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi announced the party’s decision to stay away from the bypoll and support the Congress.
The decision is not surprising, considering AIMIM’s track record of consistently being on the side of the party in power — BRS in the past and Congress now.
Jubilee Hills constituency in Telangana has a Muslim electorate of 1.3 lakh, out of the total voters of nearly four lakh, and, historically, the BRS enjoyed support from a majority of the minority community, winning two consecutive elections — 2018 and 2023.
In all the previous elections, the AIMIM fielded its candidate, securing between 20,000 and 30,000 votes, while the rest of the Muslims split between the BRS and the Congress.
The question now is which way the traditional AIMIM voter will swing. Will they heed the advice of Owaisi and vote for the Congress, in which case the ruling party will be in an advantageous position? Or will they prefer the BRS, given the party’s record of having benefited the Muslims during its ten-year rule?
The Jubilee Hills bypoll result is significant for several reasons for all three big players – Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao and the BJP.
Pre-poll surveys, so far, suggest that the BRS has a slender lead of 2-3 percent over the Congress, with Muslims split almost equally between the two parties.
However, the key factor is that these polls were done before AIMIM announced its support for the Congress. Usually, “commands” from Muslim leadership go out to voters just a couple of days before elections, and, therefore, how the minorities will behave could remain a guessing game until then.
What should not be lost sight of, though, is that there are multiple examples of Congress or the BRS having faced defeat in the past despite AIMIM offering support even in minority dominated constituencies.
For Revanth Reddy, the bypoll is the first real test of his leadership and management skills since he assumed chief ministership in December 2023.
A defeat could open up problems on multiple fronts: 1) his rivals within the party (there are many) will be emboldened to speak out openly against him; 2) his image in the eyes of the high command will be weakened; and 3) claimants for chief ministership within the Congress will up their ante.
For any politician, the ultimate test is the ability to deliver in an election, and Revanth Reddy is more than aware of this thumb rule. Congress’s performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, which followed the Assembly elections, was not impressive. In fact, the party lost in Revanth’s native Mahboobnagar Lok Sabha constituency, which includes the Kodangal segment represented by the chief minister.
On the other hand, a victory in Jubilee Hills will help him consolidate his position in the party and the government and ensure longevity in the top role; silence his critics within the party, even as he will be emboldened to go ahead with elections to the local bodies, which are already due.
For Rama Rao (KTR) as well, it is the first big test of his leadership as he has been practically steering the BRS since its defeat in the 2023 Assembly elections, with his father and former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) preferring to be in the background and letting the son emerge on his own.
The relatively decent outcome for the BRS in the 2023 Assembly elections, despite the defeat, was on account of its stupendous performance in the Greater Hyderabad limits, where it won almost all seats.
The party credits this in no small measure to the image KTR had gained for himself as the “poster boy” for urban voters with his performance as minister for both Municipal Administration and IT.
Going by reports from the ground, the BRS has already completed two rounds of visits to almost every household in Jubilee Hills. Camps with food and accommodation facilities have been set up for active party workers who have been staying put there after a day-long campaigning.
The six municipal divisions in the constituency are divided between KTR and former minister Harish Rao, with each monitoring the feedback from teams working under them daily.
If BRS can retain the seat, it will help KTR emerge as the leader-in-the-making for BRS, which still survives largely on the image of KCR.
For the BJP, a moral defeat is happening even before the election, as it is seen as essentially a contest between the Congress and the BRS. Not a triangular one, as it should have ideally been.
A host of factors pushed the party back: 1) being soft towards the Congress government in the past two years and not playing the role of an Opposition in what is seen as a result of “individual opportunism” on the part of BJP leaders; 2) neither Union Minister Kishen Reddy nor the party candidate represent the core of Hindutva; 3) failure on the part of eight BJP MPs from Telangana to deliver anything tangible for the state or city.
Jubilee Hills is part of the Secunderabad constituency, which has been represented in the Union Cabinet first by Bandaru Dattatraya and later by G Kishan Reddy for more than a decade.
Yet, the BJP has failed to improve its position. Many see it as just a “marginal player” in the present election, too. In the past polls, the BJP candidate secured around 20,000 votes.
For a party that is seeking to emerge as the “real alternative” to Congress by pushing aside the BRS, poor performance in Jubilee Hills could prove to be a dampener for its expansion plans.
The obvious question that would be asked is why any leader should look towards the saffron party closer to the Assembly elections if it does not reflect its intention to replace the BRS as the principal Opposition.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
