How Owaisi wins Hyderabad, despite a falling voting percentage

New Delhi, Mar 28: The Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency has always been an MIM bastion. While the prospects of the Owaisi led party look bright in this constituency, this year as well, the concern for the MIM over the years has been the reduction in voter turn out.

While in the 1988 elections, the voter turnout in this constituency was at 73.16 per cent, the year 2014 recorded just 53 per cent polling. In the 1999 elections, the constituency witnessed 69.1 per cent polling.

The dip in the voting percentage could be owing to a variety of reasons. For one the voters were more enthusiastic in the 1990s. Most of them came out in large numbers to ensure that their favourite candidate Owaisi won the polls. However over the years, for Owaisi, this constituency has been a cake-walk and this could be one of the reasons, why the voters take the election for granted.

There are 18.22 lakh voters in Hyderabad and since the 1984 elections only the Owaisis have won the election here. The first election as held in 1951 and was won by the Congress. The Congress has since won five elections. In the 1971 elections, the constituency was won by the Telangana Praja Samithi.

Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, won his first election from this seat in 1984 as an independent. He then went on to form the MIM, following which he won all the elections until 1999.
It was in the 2004 election that his son, Asaduddin Owaisi contested the elections. He has won the seat thrice in total. Hyderabad has been a cake walk for the Owaisis largely because 65 per cent of the population comprise Muslims.

Analysts add that over the years, the Owaisis have made this a strong bastion and their workers on the ground have done the trick for them. It would not be right to say that Owaisi wins only because he is a Muslim. There have been several times in the past that Muslims have been fielded against him, but have failed to beat him.