Hyderabad News: Can BJP's Madhavi Latha dislodge Asaduddin Owaisi in AIMIM bastion in Phase 4 polling today?

Hyderabad constituency is among 17 Lok Sabha seats of Telangana going to polls in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections on Monday, May 13. 

Sitting Member of Parliament (MP) and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi is up against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, Madhavi Latha from the seat. The saffron party has for the first time fielded a women candidate from the Hyderabad seat.

The Congress has fielded Mohammad Waliullah Sameer while the BRS has fielded Gaddam Srinivas Yadav from the Hyderabad seat in 2024 general elections.

Owaisi stronghold

The seat has been an All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) stronghold for last four decades. Owaisi has won the seat for four straight terms since 2004. Before him, Owaisi’s father Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi represented Hyderabad seat in the Lok Sabha for six straight terms since 1984.

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Owaisi won the seat by a margin of over 2.80 lakh votes in 2019 elections polling about 64 per cent of the total votes. 

Who is Madhavi Latha?

This time, however, Asaduddin Owaisi is facing quite a challenger in BJP’s Madhavi Latha, a debutant.

Latha, 49, was not known much in political circles until March 2, when her name featured in the BJP's candidate list for  Lok Sabha Elections 2024. She is a cultural activist with a Bachelor's degree in Public Administration from Nizam College and a Master's degree in Political Science from Osmania University.

On April 7, Prime Minister Modi praised lauded Latha for making solid points with logic and passion in a TV interview. “Madhavi Latha Ji, your ‘Aap Ki Adalat’ episode is exceptional. You’ve made very solid points and also done so with logic and passion. My best wishes to you," the Prime Minister posted on X.

Anti-Triple Talaq Activist 

She was at the fore front of campaign against instant triple talaq that was criminalised by Parliament in 2019.  Owaisi has been one of the critical voices against the move and had called it a “part of many of the attacks on Muslim identity and citizenship."

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Latha is also an entrepreneur, an NCC cadet, and a professional Bharatanatyam dancer. She is the chairperson of the Hyderabad-based Virinchi Hospitals. Latha had called her candidature an acknowledgement of her near-two-decades long charity work.

Thorughout her campaign, Madhavi Latha vowed to defeat Owaisi in his home turf. The AIMIM chief, however, exuded confidence of securing a record fifth term in the Parliament from Hyderabad.