: All eyes are set on the Chandrayangutta Assembly constituency. As the D-day approaches, a close contest between the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT), will unfold here.
What makes elections interesting here is the contest between the Majlis and its breakaway group Majlis Bachao Tehreek formed by Mohammed Amanullah Khan, which parted ways with the MIM in 1993 over certain issues.
Mr. Amanullah represented this constituency for five terms till 1999. He won four times since 1978 on Majlis ticket and once as MBT contestant in 1994. He defeated the Majlis candidate Yousuf Bin Abdul Khader in 1994.
However, Mr. Amanullah lost the seat to Akbaruddin Owaisi in 1999 in a close contest with a margin of 11,920 votes. Mr. Owaisi polled 66,657 votes while MBT secured 54,737. Since then Mr. Akbaruddin retained the seat in 2004 and 2009. However, the MBT still fields its candidates for the seat here. The other contenders have been from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Telugu Desam Party and Congress. However, none managed to secure even the second position in the last four terms.
In 2009 elections Majlis leader Akbaruddin Owaisi emerged victorious by defeating MBT leader Khayam Khan, by a margin of 15,177 votes. While the former got 45,492 votes, the latter could secure 30,315 votes. A total of 16 candidates, the highest in the south of the city, contested from Chandrayangutta constituency. Of them 14 contestants lost their deposits. Around 55 per cent polling was reported here in 2009.
This time around, there are 14 contestants in the fray including Prakash Mudiraj (TDP), M Seetha Ram Reddy (TRS), M. Ashwin Reddy (Congress) and a few others.
Majlis Bachao Tehreek contestant, Khayam Khan, feels not much has been done to uplift the constituency. “Nothing has changed in the last 15 years. People still queue up at public water taps, pay bribe to officials to avail government schemes and make rounds of offices to get small civic issues redressed,” he says.
Mr. Akbaruddin Owaisi, however, stoutly denies this. He says no other MLA can match the work he has done in Chandrayangutta. “During the last 15 years, I have spent Rs. 25 crore from my pocket while others have only spent the MLA funds”, he asserted.
Mr. Owaisi said he had concentrated more on health, housing and education. He claimed to have built five school buildings where 5,000 children were getting educated. This apart, he succeeded in getting three 33 kv sub stations, flyovers at Kandikal Gate and Uppuguda besides RTA office at Bandlaguda. “I pressurized the government in bringing these facilities”, Mr. Owaisi said.
