BRS Keeps Bridge Open with AIMIM Amid Shift in Telangana Politics

Despite the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) shifting its loyalties to the Congress after the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the state is keeping a bridge open in case things change in the next polls. The BRS and AIMIM may have parted ways, but the main Opposition party is hoping it can still count on support from the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party should it manage to win the next Assembly elections. So far, the K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR)-led party, which was in power between 2014 and 2023, has refrained from attacking the AIMIM despite Owaisi having moved over entirely to the Congress camp. Owaisi, the Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad, had in fact backed the BRS in the 2023 state polls. But after KCR’s party lost to the Congress, the AIMIM went on to ask Muslims to vote for the Congress in the subsequent 2024 Lok Sabha elections. It may be recalled that between 2014 and 2023, when the BRS was in power with KCR as Chief Minister, the AIMIM was central to its political plans. The BRS had managed to secure a sizeable chunk of Muslim votes outside the seats held by the AIMIM, and outside Hyderabad as well, largely thanks to the Majlis. “They have not been critical of us of late, although for a while in between they were attacking us as well. But we are also not attacking or saying anything about the AIMIM, because in case the Congress loses, we will have to have good relations with Owaisi,” a BRS leader from Hyderabad told . When pressed further, the BRS leader more or less indicated that the AIMIM’s support is still seen as an important strategic requirement for the party. It will be interesting to watch how this plays out, especially if the AIMIM were to openly issue a statement backing either the BRS or the Congress ahead of the next election – though it must be noted that, as things stand, the bonhomie between the ruling party and the Majlis remains intact. Following the 2023 state polls, AIMIM leaders had maintained that the decision to back the Congress was simply a practical necessity, allowing them to get work done in coordination with the ruling government. A senior AIMIM functionary, speaking on condition of anonymity, told that the BRS had managed to retain its cadre base and could easily win the next elections in Telangana. Asked whether the party would shift alliances if the BRS were to win, he said it was premature to say so at this point, but did not rule out the possibility. In the 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress came to power by winning 64 of the 119 seats. The BRS won 39 constituencies, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the AIMIM won 8, one and seven seats, respectively. Since then, the Congress has also won the Jubilee Hills and Secunderabad Cantonment seats in by-elections, further padding its tally.