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Rahul Gandhi to target TRS, AIMIM strongholds as he kicks off Telangana poll campaign
Rahul Gandhi will address meetings at TRS bastions Bhainsa in Adilabad district and Kamareddy in north Telangana, and the stronghold of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Charminar on Saturday.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi will focus on the strongholds of TRS and AIMIM in Telangana voters when he kicks off his party’s campaign for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
According to his itinerary, Gandhi will address meetings in TRS bastions Bhainsa in Adilabad district and Kamareddy in north Telangana, and the stronghold of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Charminar on Saturday.
Muslim minorities, constituting 12% of the total electorate, and Andhra settlers with predominant presence in over 20 assembly segments out of 119 hold the key to winning elections in Telangana.
Gandhi had visited Telangana eyeing Andhra settlers in August, two months before the election was announced.
In 2014, Congress ended up with just three Assembly seats out of 44 in north Telangana regardless of its claims about realising separate Telangana statehood.
Telangana goes to polls on December 7 and counting will be held on December 11.
TRS spokesperson P Sudhakar Reddy made light of the claims of Congress leaders about breaking into his party’s strongholds, saying Rahul Gandhi, lacking regional focus and dialect to reach out to the local people, is unlikely to create any impact on Telangana.
Besides, the Congress suffers from credibility crisis with its promises devoid of pragmatism, he said.
Former state minister of Congress, Shabbir Ali said Gandhi will expose “the unholy alliance” between TRS and (AIMIM) and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s “empty talk” of reservations for Muslims and minority welfare during the visit.
Ali sought to know the fate of the 12% reservation for Muslims approved by the Telangana assembly in April last year, but which is still pending with the Centre.
The Rao government had allocated Rs 600 crore for minority welfare in the budget in the first spell and failed to make allocations later, Ali alleged.
Ambar Kishore Jha, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), North Zone, Hyderabad, said fool-proof security arrangements have been in place to ensure Rahul’s visit in the communally-sensitive Charminar area passes off peacefully.
“Gandhi comes under SPG (Special Protection Group) cover. In addition, we will provide outer cordon and the route which he passes through is getting sanitised”, Jha said.
