The TRS has intensified its membership campaign in all the areas of the Old City, and has been receiving tremendous response.
The Old City of Hyderabad has always been treated as a "forbidden area" by major political parties including the Telugu Desam Party and the Congress. However, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi is trying to score a point over the MIM by strengthening its base there.
According to sources, the TRS has intensified its membership campaign in all the areas of the Old City, and has been receiving tremendous response.
The induction of MLC Mahmood Ali into the State Cabinet as Deputy Chief Minister appears to have sent a strong message among the masses that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was not only secular, but also believed in the political empowerment of the Muslim community.
The promise of 12% reservation to Muslims and the Shaadi Mubarak scheme aimed at providing Rs 51,000 to poor Muslim girls at the time of their marriages, have helped the TRS in making forays into the lanes and by-lanes of the Old City. The TRS has reportedly enrolled over one lakh members in the Old City in the last few weeks.
The TRS had stood fourth in Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency in the last general elections. While MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi had secured 513,868 votes to win the Hyderabad seat, his main rival Dr Bhagavanth Rao of the BJP got 311,414. The Congress candidate, S Krishna Reddy, stood third with 49,310 votes. But considered a non-entity in the Old City, the TRS secured a decent 37,195 votes. The TRS had fielded Rashid Shareef, a businessman and son of former MIM MLA late Afzal Shareef.
Although Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has maintained a cordial relationship with the MIM after the elections, he is keen that the party strengthen its base in the Old City. According to sources, KCR does not want to rely on the MIM as it is notorious for changing loyalties. The MIM was always friendly with the party in power, is his perception. It was close to the TDP during 1995-2003, and then with the Congress during 2004-2012. By making such friends, it kept the both the TDP and Congress from strengthening their bases in the Old City. However, KCR wants to adopt a different approach and wants to encash his secular image and minority welfare schemes.
Led by Rashid Shareef, the TRS workers have undertaken a campaign in the Old City to ensure that the maximum number of deserving people got the pension benefits. As a result, nearly 4,500 persons have got pensions for the first time ever.
Nearly 300 applications for the Shaadi Mubarak scheme too have been processed by the TRS workers in the Old City.
Besides enrolling new members, the TRS has also launched a silent operation 'Aakarshan', inviting MIM workers into the party. Nearly 1,000 MIM workers are likely to join the TRS at an event to be held on January 22.
When contacted, TRS leader Rashid Shareef confirmed that over 1,000 workers from other parties in the Old City had joined the TRS. However, he refused to divulge more details. (INN)