AIMIM hurls bribe charge at Congress, Cong candidate rejects allegation
Hyderabad, Nov 20: AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi has alleged that the Congress candidate in Nirmal constituency in poll-bound Telangana attempted to offer Rs 25 lakh as "party fund" to cancel his rally in support of the TRS in the town, a charge denied by the Congress.
Addressing a public meeting organised by his party at Nirmal Monday night, Owaisi claimed that he had a recorded phone conversation of the Congress candidate A Maheshwar Reddy's offer of Rs 25 lakh to a local All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader as "party fund" for cancelling his meeting.
Rejecting the charge, Reddy termed it "baseless and false" and said he would quit politics if Owaisi proved it.
AIMIM, which is on friendly terms with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), has not fielded its candidate in Nirmal assembly seat, and organised the meeting in support of the ruling party candidate though there was no formal electoral tie-up between the two parties for the December 7 Assembly elections.
The AIMIM is contesting eight seats all in Hyderabad, while the TRS is going it alone in the polls to the 119-member assembly.
The Congress heading a 'grand alliance' of TDP, CPI and TJS has announced candidates for 94 segments.
"Now when this jalsa (meeting) is happening the Congress people tried to buy Asaduddin Owaisi.
Maheshwar (Reddy) phoned a AIMIM leader telling him to stop Owaisi Saheb (from holding the meeting in Nirmal), (and) will give Rs 25 lakh party fund. I have the recording (of that phone conversation)," Owaisi said at the meeting.
This Congress candidate wants to buy my party for Rs 25 lakh.
These people think we do deal for our party, Rs 25 lakh that is the sign of their arrogance," the Hyderabad MP said.
Refuting Owaisi's allegations, Reddy dared Owaisi to prove the charge with evidence.
"Why should somebody stop someone's rally. Owaisi has already started campaigning for TRS party and now this man says that he is being stopped with an offer of Rs 25 lakh.
Why somebody will offer him Rs 25 lakh and why he will stop," he told PTI.
"I want to make it very clear if really somebody had called him or met him or if he has any evidence let him show the evidence. I am ready to take it as a challenge and I am ready to quit politics if it is proved.
Is he ready to quit politics, if it is untrue?" he asked.
They were talking of something which was "baseless and false," Reddy added.
Reacting to Owaisi's remarks, Congress party's star campaigner Khushbu Sundar told a press conference that the AIMIM chief should come out with proof.
"He (Owaisi) has to prove it. All I want to say is other than coming out with such an allegation, he should have come out with evidence first and then see if Rahul Gandhi takes action ( issue).
We don't think that the AIMIM is such big group that it is going to threaten the Congress party (party opportunities). It is a very small group and communal group," she said.
She alleged that there was a nexus among BJP, TRS and AMIM parties.
Meanwhile, the BJP Tuesday demanded that the Election Commission take cognisance of Owaisi's comments.
"What Owaisi has stated constitutes an attempt in electoral corruption," BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao told reporters here.
"Because, the state is currently undergoing election campaigning, Election Commission must take cognisance of this and must enquire into this and establish as to the culpability of the parties involved," he said.
The Congress party's desperation and its old habit of indulging in vote bank politics is once again evident, he claimed.
"This also shows some kind of a nexus between the Congress party and AIMIM led by Owaisi," Narasimha Rao said.
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Vartha Bharati–Sankalp predictions align closely with Karnataka bypoll results
Bengaluru: The Vartha Bharati–Sankalp election analysis has shown a high level of accuracy in predicting the outcome of the recent Karnataka Assembly by-elections held in May 2026, correctly calling winners in both constituencies and closely estimating vote share trends.
The by-elections were held in Bagalkot and Davanagere South, drawing significant political attention as both seats were seen as key tests for the ruling Congress and opposition BJP.
According to the analysis, Vartha Bharati–Sankalp had made three major projections ahead of the results the winning party, vote share percentages, and margin of victory.
In both constituencies, the platform accurately predicted that the Congress would emerge victorious. The outcome matched the projections, with Congress candidates winning in Bagalkot and Davanagere South.
In terms of vote share, the predictions were largely in line with the final results. In Bagalkot, the BJP’s vote share was forecast in the range of 40 to 46 per cent, while the actual figure stood at 42.9 per cent. The Congress vote share, however, exceeded expectations, with the party securing 55.4 per cent against a projected range of 43 to 48 per cent.
The margin of victory in Bagalkot turned out to be significantly higher than anticipated. While the projection had placed the margin between 2,000 and 3,500 votes, the final margin was around 22,332 votes.
In Davanagere South, the predictions also remained largely accurate. The Congress vote share was projected between 43 and 51 per cent, and the final figure stood at 43.9 per cent. The BJP was expected to secure between 42 and 50 per cent but ended with 40.3 per cent.
The analysis had also identified the role of SDPI as a potential spoiler in the constituency. While its vote share was estimated around 6 per cent, the party eventually secured around 12 per cent of the vote.
The margin of victory in Davanagere South was predicted to be between 1,500 and 2,600 votes. The actual margin was higher at around 5,708 votes, though the contest remained relatively close as anticipated.
Overall, the performance of Vartha Bharati–Sankalp stood out for correctly identifying the winning parties in both seats and maintaining close accuracy in vote share estimates, with only limited deviations in specific cases.
