Hyderabad sources reported that Muslim votes in Telangana are likely to be split between the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the opposition Congress led People's Front as the two major contenders for power have intensified their efforts to woo the minority community. Meanwhile with a huge concentration of Muslim voters in state capital Hyderabad and some other districts, they are in a position to tilt the balance in nearly half of the 119 Assembly constituencies going to polls on December 7.
Furthermore the role of Muslims, who constitute over 12 percent of the state's 3.51 crore population, may become crucial in what appears to be a straight fight between the TRS and the People's Front that has the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Communist Party of India (CPI) and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) as its other constituents. Accordingly MIM, which has its stronghold in the Muslim majority old city, is also contesting another seat.
Moreover MIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi have been addressing election rallies in some constituencies outside Hyderabad to campaign for the TRS. Reportedly prominent among the Muslim candidates is MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, who is seeking a fifth consecutive term from Chandrayangutta and the senior Congress leader and former minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir is contesting from Kamareddy constituency.
