As contours of the twin cities get transformed, two prestigious constituencies here are up for a change in leadership too. HNN looks into what lies in store.
LS CONSTITUENCY HYDERABAD
Contest on the cards, finally
The 2009 General Election for Hyderabad constituency, that largely covers the Old City area, will for the first time in many years throw up two election-related responses that voters here may have forgotten - speculation and suspense. For once, the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, which has maintained its hold on this Lok Sabha (LS) constituency for about three decades now, will face some resistance in the form of the editor of the Urdu daily Siasat, Zahid Ali Khan, being supported by the Grand Alliance (TDP, TRS and the Left) and Majlis Bachao Tehreek.
Until now, elections in this constituency (which has a 70-30 Muslim-Hindu ratio) saw major political parties fielding a weak candidate either to split the Hindu vote or barter another seat in return for this one. However, this time around at least one candidate would put up a sincere fight. While the Congress party is unlikely to field any candidate in this constituency, owing to its alliance with MIM, the BJP would not let the seat go uncontested. It has always put up a candidate in the past, once even fielding Venkaiah Naidu.
Discussions are now veering to whether or not the new entrant to politics Zahid Ali Khan (who evolved from writing critical pieces on the MIM two years ago questioning the party and Owaisi family’s authority in the Old City to taking on the younger Asaduddin Owaisi himself this election) would be able to swing the Old City vote in his favour. The Congress votebank would still swing in favour of MIM, in addition to that of scores of MIM loyalists, they say. The split in MIM votes would, however, not work in favour of a third party, least of all BJP, say analysts who add that in the Old City, Hindus might vote for Zahid Ali Khan’s secular credentials rather then BJP.
Nevertheless, voters say the result of this election may not be as predictable as it was until the last election, when the late Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, after serving as Lok Sabha MP for six consecutive terms, stepped down to make way for his son, Asaduddin Owaisi, who currently is the MP from Hyderabad.
Owaisi lists out the changes that he has brought about in his constituency in the last four-and-a-half-years, such as the laying of sewerage lines, a project worth crores of rupees in areas such as Chandrayangutta and Yakutpura and the construction of storm water drains. Setting up a new maternity hospital, which may in future share the load of the over-stretched Nayapul maternity hospital, is another achievement he talks of along with that of an indoor sports complex at Chandulal Baradari and a model Urdu school behind Falaknuma.
“I have been one of the few MPs who have utilised all funds of the MPLADS (Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme),’’ says Asaduddin Owaisi, who has raised 1001 questions in the Lok Sabha during his tenure and participated in 48 debates (including felicitations). But what got him two-minute national attention was his spirited speech in the Parliament during the trust motion last year where he disagreed that Muslims were against the nuclear deal. “What is good/bad for India is good/bad for Muslims,” he had argued.
But residents of his constituency are no longer impressed with the articulate speeches of their barrister MP. “They (MIM) haven’t done anything here. Storm water gets collected all time and even enters our houses. Where are the drains he is talking about,” says an Old City resident and businessman, A Masood. Residents like Masood also note that atrocities against the minorities such as the arrests of the Muslim youths following the Mecca Masjid blast have continued, MIM’s presence notwithstanding.
MIM’s opponents are using the poor state of education among residents here for fodder against it. “If the drop out rate in the new city is 8.8 per cent, that in the Old City is 38.8 per cent,” says P Madhu, Rajya Sabha CPI (M) MP, and goes on to compare the abysmal pass percentage among students of Urdu medium schools here with that of similar schools in the rest of the state.
Then there are more serious allegations. Madhu alleges that no property deal in the Old City can be finalised without MIM’s interference, wherein people are arm-twisted to sell their property to the party at half the market value. He adds that MIM has grabbed land owned by schools, mosques and graveyards and has not discussed any issue concerning citizens except religion. “People are now fed up,” he says.
Delimitation Impact: The areas excluded from Hyderabad constituency are Chevella, Tandur and Vikarabad. As none of these areas have been MIM strongholds in the past, political observers conclude that delimitation would have little impact on the MIM. Its opponents who could have banked on these areas to bring down the total MIM vote count, claim that delimitation works in their favour because the anti-MIM wave has been building up in the remaining areas.
LS CONSTITUENCY SECUNDERABAD
Familiar faces, familiar woes
It was a reluctant Anjan Kumar Yadav who was fielded as Congress’s last minute choice against BJP’s candidate, union minister Bandaru Dattatreya in the 2004 elections from Secunderabad constituency for the Lok Sabha (LS). So it was a surprise win for Yadav against Dattatreya who had served as member of parliament for three terms from this constituency and the election result had Yadav break into a victory dance attributing the miraculous win to Sonia Gandhi.
Five years hence, not much has changed. Yadav is still the reluctant Secunderabad MP and still looks to the party leadership even when talking about his achievements. So be it the Rs 2/kg rice scheme or the Arogyasri health cover for the poor, they all figure in Yadav’s kitty of ‘achievements’.
Anything specific for Secunderabad? “Water problem has been solved,” he claims, which scores of residents in the area disagree with. He also lists among his achievements the launch of 700 air-conditioned buses in the city (Secunderabad constituency comprises much of the city), funding of Osmania, Gandhi and Niloufer hospitals and getting the approval for a world class Secunderabad station.
Yadav also says he has got community halls constructed, got high tension wires removed and asked for A-1 city status for Hyderabad. The last claim is corroborated in debates he has participated in, in the Lok Sabha. While he participated only in eight debates in the Lok Sabha, most of the time it was for a facelift for the city. He raised 318 questions during his term. “I spent Rs 10 crore for the constituency. I got community halls constructed, developed graveyards by getting compound walls built and making water and shelter arrangements for people, apart from getting new equipment and ambulances for Gandhi, Osmania and Niloufer hospitals,” he says.
But voters of his constituency say they have never seen Yadav and have taken to solving their problems themselves as against approaching the politician who never seems to have the time for them. Besides, those in healthcare question the veracity of his claim of new equipment in the three government hospitals.
Residents say that while both Dattatreya and Yadav have disappointed them, the latter has let them down badly. “Dattatreya had a long innings and as a politician he would oblige people, give recommendations but most importantly, he was soft-spoken. Yadav, on the other hand is practical and operates in groups,” says P Soni, a shop owner. He says that both are limited in their understanding of issues but know how to manoeuvre political mechanisms. “I don’t think they have taken up any issue,” he says, pointing at the r a m p a n t hoarding of various commodities that goes on in the city, which has only inflated prices. “But nobody is talking about that or even the impact of the Rs 2/kg rice s ch e m e, ” says Soni.
Bandaru Dattatreya, on his part, says that as the urban development minister he was the first one to speak about metro rail as a Rs 3850 crore project. “They (Congress) turned it into a Rs 12,000 crore scandal,” he says, adding that the present government even failed to take forward MMTS phase II. Apart from MMTS, he had initiated the Musi cleaning exercise and slum housing too. “Now the city is totally neglected. The condition of roads is also very poor,” he says.
Delimitation impact: Serilingampally, Kukatpally and Maharajganj have been dropped from the Secunderabad constituency. The Congress party however claims it isn’t worried about any change in the voting pattern. They explain that the areas dropped were inhabited largely by settlers, while the ones that Secunderabad constituency retains have a sizable minority population that would continue to vote for the party. Whether this familiarity breeds contempt or loyalty for the sitting MP Anjan Kumar Yadav remains to be seen.
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Until the 2004 general elections, the twin cities had two Lok Sabha (LS)constituencies - Hyderabad and Secunderabad. After the delimitation exercise based on the 2001 census, two new LS constituencies have been added - Chevella and Malkajgiri. These new constituencies comprise areas that have been carved out from Hyderabad and Secunderabad constituencies.
HYDERABAD
Areas included: Malakpet, Karwan, Goshamahal, Charminar, Chandrayangutta, Yakutpura and Bahadurpura Areas excluded (after delimitation): Chevella, Tandur and Vikarabad Areas added: Malakpet, Goshamahal and Bahadurpura Total no of voters: 13,03,974 lakh
KEY ISSUES
- Poor road conditions
- Insufficient water supply
- Overflowing drains, storm water entering into houses, stagnation of water on roads
- Traffic problems
SECUNDERABAD
Areas include: Musheerabad, Amberpet, Khairatabad, Jubilee Hills, Sanathnagar, Nampally and Secunderabad Areas excluded (after delimitation): Serilingampally, Kukatpally, and Maharajgunj
Total no of voters: 13,79,319 lakh
KEY ISSUES
- Imbalanced growth of constituency; some elite pockets get more attention than the rest
- Bad roads
- Unscheduled load-shedding
- Rise in anti social elements/activities.
MALKAJGIRI
Areas include: Medchal, Qutubullapur, Kukatpally, Uppal, L B Nagar, Secunderabad Cantonment and Malkajgiri
Total no of voters: 21,159,47 lakh
KEY ISSUES
- Large number of schools mushrooming with small classrooms and no ground space
- Illegal construction and encroachment of properties
- Unruly traffic, mostly due to unfinished roads
- Shortage of water supply
- Poor underground drainage
CHEVELLA
Areas include: Maheshwaram, Rajendranagar, Serilingampally, Pargi, Vikarabad, Tandur and Chevella
Total no. of voters: 16,355,40 lakh
KEY ISSUES
- Voter identity card - discrepancy in the number of voters here.
- Poor traffic management due to very few signals and zebra crossings.
- Hardly any bus shelters, even bus routes are long winding and roundabout.
- Inadequate drainage system
- Insufficient water supply.
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