"Beauty of democracy...": AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi says all political parties will "challenge" us

New Delhi [India], May 3 : Asserting that all the political parties including Congress, BJP and BRS will "challenge" us, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday said that that this is the "beauty of democracy" that anyone can contest the elections and can challenge anyone adding that he has "faith and confidence" in the work done by the party in the last five years.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Owaisi responded to the question of whether BJP candidate Madhavi Latha is a "challenge" in this Lok Sabha Elections by referring to the 1996 elections where BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu lost the elections.
"The elections are elections whether it is the Municipal Corporation elections or Sarpanch elections or Zila Parishad or MLA or MP, elections are elections. We take all the elections very seriously. It's not that it's a challenge, all the opponents of Congress, BRS, BJP, or Independent candidates will challenge us. We have full faith and confidence in our efforts and work done in the last five years. In 1996 Venkaiah Naidu was the candidate and at that time people used to say that it would be difficult for us to win the elections but at that time also we won the elections. There are elections and I don't have any right to pick and choose any candidate of any party. There will be a party and candidate in the election. So this the beauty of democracy that anyone can contest the elections and can challenge anyone," the four-time member of Parliament told ANI.
Reacting to Madhavi Latha's prediction that she would defeat the AIMIM chief in the Lok Sabha elections by a margin of over 1 lakh votes, he said that on the day of the results (June 4), we all will get to know about her "confidence" adding that AIMIM fight is against the "ideology of BJP".
"She is confident fine, we are also confident. How much she is confident or not will be known on the day of the results (June 4). Our fight is from the BJP party, their ideology, and the wrong work done in the 10 last years. In BJP, there is only one face that is of Narendra Modi. As they don't have any other face. We are working our best. At the time of COVID-19, we worked really hard and I don't believe that other than us any party has worked so hard in Hyderabad. We provided oxygen cylinders and took people to the hospitals. We have a good connection on the grassroots level. I am confident that there will be good results for us," he said.
When asked about the BJP Hyderabad candidates' gestures towards the mosque, the AIMIM chief said that Madhavi Latha's action towards the mosque "exposed" the BJP.
"We don't have any dirty tricks department. The video was shot by someone else and then we saw the video. The mosque was in front of you and you were physically present there and then you were shooting an arrow towards a mosque. You are doing everything. There was no need to do all these things. By doing this gesture you yourself exposed the BJP," he referred to the BJP candidate from the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency, Latha, who courted controversy after a video of her gesturing to shoot an arrow, purportedly in the direction of a mosque, came to light.
Owaisi further asserted that the "BJP is the enemy of Hyderabad's peace" adding this was an "attempt to destroy the peace" of Hyderabad.
"We are saying from the very start that the BJP is the enemy of Hyderabad's peace. In the last 15-18 years no communal riots have taken place here. The companies are coming here for investment. What message you have given to the companies by doing this gesture? This is your video and the world has seen it and after that, everyone condemned her gesture," he added.
Owaisi, who has served four terms in the Lok Sabha as the elected representative from Hyderabad since 2004, was previously elected as an MLA twice in the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh.
Prior to Asaduddin Owaisi, who won the seat for the first time in 2004, Hyderabad was represented in the Lok Sabha by his father, Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, from 1984. Apart from the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, all assembly seats in Hyderabad, except Goshamahal, are held by the AIMIM.
Madhavi Latha is set to face Asaduddin Owaisi, who is a four-time Lok Sabha MP from the Hyderabad constituency. It is worth mentioning that this is the first time that the BJP has fielded a female candidate from the Hyderabad constituency.
She was actively involved in the campaign against instant triple talaq, which was criminalized by Parliament in 2019. Her candidature is significant given Owaisi's opposition to the law, which he deemed as an assault on Muslim identity and citizenship.
In 2019, the BJP fielded Bhagavanth Rao, who stood second and lost to Owaisi by 282186 votes, garnering around 26 per cent of the vote while the AIMIM chief got 58.95 per cent votes.
The Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency comprises seven assembly segments--Bahadurpura, Chandrayangutta, Charminar, Goshamahal, Karwan, Malakpet and Yakatpura. All assembly seats, except Goshamahal, are presently held by the AIMIM.
Voting for all 17 seats in Telangana will take place on May 13 in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
In the 2019 general election, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) won nine seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party four, Congress three and AIMIM one seat.'
The voting for the first two phases has been completed so far. The next round of voting will be held on May 7.
Lok Sabha polls are being held across seven phases till June 1 and votes will be counted on June 4.