Bharat Rashtra Samithi Working President KT Rama Rao on Thursday fielded Salman Khan, an independent candidate whose nomination papers were rejected by the Returning Officer ahead of the Jubilee Hills bypoll.
Mr Khan, co-founder of Hyderabad Youth Courage Organisation, had earlier campaigned for allotment of land for a Muslim graveyard in the constituency – an issue that figured prominently in several party manifestos. Congress announced it would set aside 2,500 square yards of land for the purpose, but the move stalled after the military claimed it was defense land. Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi also pledged to help secure land for the cemetery.
Mr Khan’s campaign, which has drawn polarizing reactions on social media, recently criticized the BRS for its handling of Waqf land in Manikonda. On Thursday, however, he apologized to Mr. Rama Rao and former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for his earlier remarks, which he made “inadvertently or inadvertently”.
At the launch event, Mr. Rama Rao said that once the BRS returned to power, the government would issue an ordinance to allot land for the cemetery. If no government land was available, private land would be taken, he assured. Mr. Rama Rao also expressed confidence that the BRS would return to office under the leadership of Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao.
Ahead of the election, the parties attempted to court Muslim voters, with Mr. Rao meeting grassroots leader Ahmed Naqshbandi at his residence in Rahmat Nagar, where Rao claimed that the Congress considered Muslim votes to be theirs. He also said that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was working with Akhil Bharatiya Vidya Parishad and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Jubilee Hills constituency has about 3.98 million voters. While parts of it are upscale and gentrified, several neighborhoods remain underdeveloped. Almost a third of the electorate is Muslim and the AIMIM has a significant presence in at least two constituencies. Mr. Owaisi has fielded Congress candidate Naveen Yadav, who contested from the same constituency on an AIMIM ticket.
Published – 23 Oct 2025 20:21 IST
