The Muslim political party Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has further strengthened its base in Hyderabad as the party not only retained the Lok Sabha seat for the 8th consecutive time but also increased its tally in the state assembly from five to seven.
Asaduddin Owaisi, the sitting Member of Parliament and MIM president, was re-elected from Hyderabad with a margin of 1,10,000 votes. It was an improvement over his 2004 margin of 1,00,000 votes.
He defeated his nearest rival Zahed Ali Khan of the Telugu Desam. Khan, the owner-editor of leading Urdu newspaper Siasat. Khan was supported by the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India-Marxist, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and host of smaller Muslim groups in Hyderabad.
The MIM has also increased its strength in the state assembly from five to seven. It won the seats of Charminar, Yakutpura, Karwan, Bahadurpura, Chandrayangutta, Malakpet and Nampally. But its candidate was defeated in Rajindernagar constituency of Ranga Reddy district.
"This is the victory of truth," said Asad Owaisi, who had faced a tough challenge from his nearest rival.
