How Revanth Reddy managed Asaduddin Owaisi to win Jubilee Hills bypoll

New Delhi: The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM)’s support proved crucial for the Congress in the Jubilee Hills by-elections in Telangana as the ruling party registered a comfortable win over the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, popularly known as KCR.

It is said that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had “managed” AIMIM chief and Hyderabad Lok Sabha member Asaduddin Owaisi to support the Congress candidate, V Naveen Yadav. There are over 1.20 lakh Muslim voters and another 22,000 voters from other minority communities in the Jubilee Hills assembly segment, and their support was crucial to win the by-poll.

It was a prestige battle for Reddy, who desperately wanted to silence not only his political rivals but also detractors and opponents within his own party as well. Before the Jubilee Hills by-elections, knives were out for Reddy within the Congress over his ‘autocratic and arbitrary style’ of functioning.

Owaisi had deployed two members of the legislative council, one legislator, over a dozen corporators, and other senior and young leaders to work for Yadav’s victory. He had also appealed to voters to support a young candidate like Yadav for the development of Jubilee Hills, alleging that the previous BRS government had neglected the constituency.

Many Congress and BJP leaders privately claimed that Reddy had struck a “deal” with Owaisi to safeguard his chair in Telangana. They pointed to a “wonderful relationship” between Owaisi and KCR during the ten-year rule of the BRS, insisting that the AIMIM chief was a "master" in bargaining hard with the ruling parties.