If the Majlis party has anything to boast about in this election, then it is the competence to hold Charminar constituency seat for 10 terms in a row.
The MIM won the seat in 1967 and ever since representing the seat non stop for the last 47 years.
Majlis leader late Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, who was popularly known as Salar, bagged the seat in 1967 and made his debut as a MLA. He won by defeating Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS) candidate C. L. Meghraj by a margin of 7,500 votes.
Out of a total of 62,976 voters, only 36,775 turned up to vote.
While Salar managed to get 17,902 votes, his rival Meghraj could get 10,402 votes. Five persons contested the election and over 54 per cent polling was recorded then. The party is having a free run here since then.
The party’s firm grip on the constituency has ensured its victory even in toughest times.
In 2009 after the delimitation of the constituency Ahmed Pasha Quadri bagged it after defeating TDP candidate Ali Bin Ibrahim Masqati by 10,695 votes
Canvassing by top leaders of various political parties cut no ice with the voters. In 2004 the party won by 1, 07,921 votes against TDP candidate Tayabba Tasleem.
Similar case
It was a similar case in 1999 when TDP contestant Syed Shah Noorul Haq Quadri was defeated by a margin of 93,505 votes.
In fact, Majlis president Asaduddin Owaisi made his debut in full-fledged politics after he contested and won the Charminar seat in 1994. He defeated MBT candidate Hussain Shaheed by a margin of 40,544 votes. A total of 19 candidates contested the elections and deposits of 17 were forfeited.
High polling percentage
The highest polling percentage in Charminar Assembly constituency recorded so far was in the year 1983 with 81.37 poll percentage.
Of the total 1, 14,333 votes in that year 93,035 votes were polled and Majlis managed to get 50,724 votes. The runner up was C. Ashok Kumar of BJP who could get 18,218 votes.
Sultan Salahuddin contested and won the seat in 1967, 1978, 1983, Syed Hassan in 1972, Mohd Mukarramuddin in 1985, Virasat Rasool Khan in 1989, Asaduddin Owaisi in 1994 and 1999.
Later Ahmed Pasha Quadri, contested from the seat in 2004 and 2009. He will try his luck again in 2014 elections.
