Whenever any political party nominated a candidate for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency against Asaduddin Owaisi, it was more of a formality for the result was always a foregone conclusion.
The Owaisi family has been dominating this segment of Hyderabad comprising seven constituencies for the past four decades.
While Owaisi’s father won every election from 1984 to 1999, Asaduddin has been winning without fail from 2004 increasing his victory margin every time to 2.82 lakh votes in 2019.
This time around though, the BJP sprang a surprise by giving the ticket to Madhavi Latha, a firebrand lady who happens to be the chairperson of the Virinchi group of hospitals.
Madhavi Latha has apparently worked for the upliftment of poor Muslim women in the old City.
Currently, of the seven constituencies in Old City, MIM has sway over six with BJP firebrand Raja Singh being the lone MLA winning from Goshamahal.
Truth be told, Madhavi Latha was an unknown until she jumped into the electoral fray and the media has made her a household name.
Prime Minister Modi himself has personally congratulated her on X for a recent interview given by her. Union Minister Anurag Thakur campaigned for her during a recent massive roadshow in Hyderabad.
The election commission also deleted around 5 lakh bogus votes, a move many believe will work in the BJP’s favour.
Yet, in all likelihood, it might be a gargantuan task for Madhavi Latha to unseat Owaisi despite her enthusiasm.
The Owaisi brothers have such a strong hold on the Old City that they are to the Muslims there what Jinnah probably was to the Muslims at the time of partition.
Besides, their power is such that nearly 99 percent of the Muslims in the Old City are not even aware of the opposition candidate’s name.
Therefore, any decent showing by Madhavi Latha in the elections will greatly enhance her stature.
She has infused zeal among the Telangana BJP cadre that is looking for a strong leader after Bandi Sanjay and his rift with Eatala Rajender affected the Party.
In future, it will not come as a surprise if she were to emerge as the face of BJP in Telangana.