In a surprising move, the Congress party is considering to field famous tennis player Sania Mirza against All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi from Hyderabad in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Moneycontrol reported quoting unnamed sources.
As the Congress Central Election Committee (CEC) cleared 18 names in a meeting held on Wednesday to discuss candidates in four states--Goa, Telangana, UP, Jharkhand and Daman and Diu, it is speculated that Mirza's name was also discussed in the meeting.
Political pundits are in the view that Congress is eyeing Sania Mirza's popularity and celebrity status to establish a lost foothold in the city's electoral landscape, the report added. Congress last won in Hyderabad in 1980 with K S Narayan as the MP.
As per the report, Mirza's name for the candidature was proposed by former Indian cricket captain and Congress leader Mohammed Azharuddin. Both the players have close familial ties as the cricketer's son Mohammed Asaddudin is married to Sania Mirza's sister, Anam Mirza in 2019.
Azharuddin contested the recently held Telangana legislative assembly elections, where he lost to Bharat Rashtra Samithi's (BRS) Maganti Gopinath from Jubilee Hills constituency by over 16,000 votes.
Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency:
{{/usCountry}}Azharuddin contested the recently held Telangana legislative assembly elections, where he lost to Bharat Rashtra Samithi's (BRS) Maganti Gopinath from Jubilee Hills constituency by over 16,000 votes.
Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency:
{{/usCountry}}Hyderabad has a rich cultural heritage and diverse demographics. A stronghold of AIMIM, the recent resurgence of the grand old party witnessed in the 2023 assembly polls in the region has posed a significant challenge to AIMIM's dominance, setting the stage for an intense electoral battle.
In 1984, Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi won the Hyderabad seat as an independent candidate and later, from 1989 to 1999, as an AIMIM candidate. After him, Asaddudin Owaisi carried forward the legacy, holding the seat since 2004. In 2019, 14 candidates contested against Owaisi. He won the seat by securing 58.94% of the total votes polled, maintaining his dominance.
Elections 2024:
For this Lok Sabha election, BJP has named Madhavi Latha as its candidate, while BRS has fielded Gaddam Srinivas Yadav.
The elections for the 543 parliamentary constituencies will be held in seven phases, starting on April 19 and culminating on June 1. The phase 1 polling will be held on April 19, the second phase on April 26, third phase on May 7, fourth phase on May 13, 5th phase on May 20, 6th phase on May 25 and the last and the 7th phase on June 1. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.
Meanwhile, the voting in Telangana would be held in a single phase on May 13.