Hyderabad, May 9: In a significant development, United Muslim Forum (UMF) has declared support to the ruling Congress party in Telangana for Lok Sabha elections.
UMF, an umbrella group of various religious organisations belonging to different schools of thought, appealed to Muslims to vote for Congress candidates in 16 out of 17 constituencies in the state.
For Hyderabad, UMF backed AIMIM All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), whose president Asaduddin Owaisi is seeking re-election for a fifth consecutive term.
Elections for all 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state are scheduled to be held on May 13.
The unanimous decision to support Congress was taken at a meeting presided over by Moulana Mufti Syed Sadeq Mohiuddin, a well-known religious figure. The meeting was attended by religious scholars, community leaders and intellectuals from various walks of life.
Moulana Akbar Nizamuddin, who heads well-known seminary Jamia Nizamia, said UMF has appealed to Muslims to vote in favour of the candidates of Congress party in all constituencies barring Hyderabad.
The meeting felt that the country is passing through a critical phase and Muslims should use their vote carefully to defeat BJP and its allies.
The UMF had backed Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana Assembly elections held in November 2023. The participants felt that though BRS is secular, this being Lok Sabha elections there is a need to support a national party like Congress to defeat communal forces.
It was felt that Congress and INDIA alliance is taking BJP head-on at the national level and hence their hands should be strengthened.
Like in the past, UMF decided to support AIMIM in Hyderabad. Despite some differences, the majority of Muslim organisations support Majlis in Hyderabad. The party has been representing the seat for last 40 years.
Members of UMF noted the efforts of Asaduddin Owaisi in fighting the communal forces and expressed the unanimous view that Muslims of Hyderabad should ensure his victory with a record majority.
The meeting also appealed for avoiding division of secular votes and decided to create an awareness among voters on the importance of casting every vote. The members decided to undertake campaigns in the city and in all districts to ensure that every Muslim cast his or her vote.
UMF has members from various sects. It has representation from Shias, Mehdvis, Sufis, Ahl-e-Hadees, Sufis, Tableegi Jamaat. Organisations like Jamiat-ul-Ulema and Tameer-e-Millat are part of UMF.
The decision is likely to clear confusion prevailing among Muslim electorate in many constituencies. As almost all constituencies are witnessing three-cornered contests, Muslim voters were in a dilemma whether to support Congress or BRS.
AIMIM, which had taken a clear stand in Assembly elections in favour of BRS, has not yet made an appeal to Muslims to vote for Congress. It, however, hinted at backing the ruling party to defeat BJP.
In 2019, BJP had won four Lok Sabha seats in Telangana. The saffron party won seats like Secunderabad, Karimnagar and Nizamabad which have a good chunk of Muslim votes.
