Although it is usually the Congress that accuses the AIMIM of being in cahoots with the BJP, in the case of the Chevella Lok Sabha seat in Telangana, BJP candidate Konda Vishweshwar Reddy has accused the AIMIM of teaming up with the Congress.

Reddy said the Owaisi party had teamed up with the grand old party to ensure that the 15 per cent of Muslim votes in the constituency go to the ruling party in the state.

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The Chevella Lok Sabha is unique since its major portion, almost 56 per cent, is highly urbanised, home to the state’s IT hub while the rest comprises the rural population. Apart from the 15 per cent Muslims, it has a small percentage of Christians and almost 15 per cent SCs. Its large BC population is dominated by the fishermen folk from the Mudiraj community.

Although the BRS won the seat twice, in the 2014 and in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, both the winners have now left the party. Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, the current BJP candidate, had won the seat for the BRS in 2014 but walked out of the party, joined the Congress, and contested in 2019 but lost. He later joined the BJP.

G Ranjith Reddy, the sitting BRS MP joined the Congress last month and got the party ticket much to the angst of the local Congress workers. Vishweshwar Reddy, an engineer and entrepreneur-turned-politician accused the Congress and the AIMIM of Asaduddin Owaisi of working together. The AIMIM has some influence in the Rajendranagar area of Chevella constituency where the AIMIM president is a resident.

“Congress and AIMIM are together in Chevella. The Congress openly said their vote bank is the 4 lakh Muslims and two lakh Christians. So, they are trying to make it a communal contest. If they look from a communal angle their 15 per cent Muslim vote will turn into an 85 per cent advantage for me…On the face of it, there is Bharat Jodo (yatra), on the face of it they are secular but they are absolutely communal, dependent upon communal vote banks,” said K Vishweshwar Reddy.

Meanwhile, the BRS fielded a veteran Mudiraj leader, Kasani Gnaneshwar, But Vishweshwar Reddy remained unfazed. He pointed out that his initiative to provide self-employment to the fisher folk through the rural tourism project will reap dividends. According to him “caste politics is dead just like communal politics.”

However, he alleged anger against the Congress candidate both from the BRS and the Congress. “I am going to the people whereas the Congress candidate is going to the Congress people for votes. He was earlier in the BRS fighting against the Congress with the power and authority of the ruling BRS. He had put a lot of Congress people in trouble with land disputes. Congress and BRS both want him to be defeated,” said Vishweshwar Reddy, who had stuck to Chevella even after his defeat in 2019.

He also claimed that a significant chunk of anti-incumbency votes that went to Congress in the Assembly elections would revert to the BJP making it one of the most favourable seats for the saffron party.