In a dramatic move yesterday, Asaduddin Owaisi, president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM), extended on his own his ‘complete and full support’ to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on the eve of the counting of votes which takes place today (Tuesday).

People of Telangana voted enthusiastically last Friday to elect a new Legislative Assembly and after four days of suspense, counting of votes is taken up today. A trend is likely to emerge as early ast at 10:00 a.m. and a clear winner would certainly emerge by the evening. Counting of votes of Assembly polls held in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram would also be taken up simultaneously.

It may be noted that the BJP, which locked the TRS and the Congress-TDP combine in a three-cornered contest in all the 119 Assembly constituencies in the State, said a couple of days ago that it was ready to throw its weight behind a TRS-led Govt. just in case the ruling party fell behind the magic number of 60 seats to form the next Govt.

Owaisi drove to TRS chief and caretaker chief-minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao’s residence on a motrocycle, much to the chagrin of his own partymen and the media. Later, talking to the media personnel after meeting the chief-minister, Owaisi said that his motorcycle ride was intended to show to the rest of the State how peaceful Hyderabad in particular and Telangana in general was.

“After all, it’s my city,” said Owaisi, who represents Hyderabad in Parliament. Owaisi was obviously referring to threats meted out to him and his family by Uttar Pradesh chief-minister Yogi Adityanath (during his campaign in Telangana) and some local BJP leaders. In the meantime, the BJP once again asserted that it won’t prop up a Congress-TDP led Govt.