In the by-polls last year, T Manemma of the Congress barely sailed through to win the Musheerabad assembly constituency. Eight months later, her popularity hasn’t improved and she is having a tough time with voters.
As Manemma went around the constituency seeking re-election, she saw distrust in the eyes of unforgiving voters who question her openly about promises she has not kept. “You promised pensions to all those who are eligible, but more than 20 people are still waiting for it here,” K Babu Rao, a cycle shop owner told her point-blank at Bapujinagar during her campaign. here and elsewhere Manemma’s stock reply was: “Let the elections be over. I will see that all the eligible get pensions.”
A Bharatamma, a widow and physically handicapped woman, complained that though she was getting Rs 200 widow pension, she was not getting pension under the physically handicapped quota. She was told that she would have got it if she had more than 60 per cent deformity.
In the last election, Manemma, wife of former chief minister T Anjaiah, won over BJP’s K Laxman. Most major parties have fielded the same candidates who had contested the by-polls. Only the CPM candidate S Veeraiah is out as the Mahakutami alliance allotted it to TRS, represented by former MLA Nayani Narasimha Reddy. Rohit Kumar represents Lok Satta. The Prajarajyam Party (PRP) has fielded P V Ashok Kumar here.
Interestingly, the traders here are up in arms against both Manemma and Narsimha Reddy due to proposals of massive road widening in Musheerabad and Kavadiguda. “Nearly 300 shops between Musheerabad to Chikkadpally will be affected by road widening, yet neither of them has responded to us,” said C Rajesh Kumar, a shopkeeper at Musheerabad.
Though Manemma claims to have spent Rs 13 crore on developing the constituency in the last eight months, voters like pan shop owner B Mallesh of Musheerabad say that she is inaccessible. “She visited our colony only during the last elections; even MP Anjan Kumar Yadav was not seen here in the last five years,” Mallesh said.
Meanwhile BJP’s K Laxman is targeting middle class colonies with door-todoor campaigns in Gandhinagar, Bakaram and Chikkadpally. “The Congress government burdened flat owners by collecting an extra Rs 125 per flat towards water charges. I will see that this is stopped,” Laxman told a flat owner of Surabhi apartments at Bakaram.
The BJP nominee is however worried about splitting of anti-Congress votes. Laxman lost by a margin of 2075 votes in the bypolls, trailing behind Congress candidate Manemma who secured 34,795 votes. Lok Satta’s Rohit Kumar got 6000 votes.
BJP nominee Laxman believes he lost the May 2008 by-election because most of the educated and employed, usually considered a vote bank of BJP, went in favour of the young entrepreneur Rohit Kumar of Lok Satta. However the BJP is strong in the Kavadiguda, Jawaharnagar, Vidyanagar and Domalguda municipal divisions, and has several corporators from the last municipal elections. But one Vidyanagar corporator quit BJP and joined TRS, boosting the confidence of Narsimha Reddy who thinks this will add to the TRS vote bank, and CPM and TDP strength.
Nayani Narsimha Reddy thinks he lost the by-election because the CPM candidate had supported the TDP then. In 2004, he won because the TRS had allied with the Congress party. This time, both the TDP and CPM are supporting the TRS.
All candidates agree that the sizeable Muslim votes in areas like Gulshan Nagar, Tajer Nagar and Siddiqui Nagar could go the Congress way. And this could make a big difference.
CONSTITUENCY PROFILE
Total voters: 2,24,594 |
Male voters: 1,17,285 | Female voters: 1,07,309
Segments under this constituency: Musheerabad, Bakaram, Azamabad, Baghlingampalli, Chikkadpally, Ashok Nagar, Kavadiguda, Bholakpur, Adikmet, Domalguda, Anjaiahnagar, Kavadiguda, Ranga Nagar, Zamistanpur, Bakaram, Nallakunta, Jawaharnagar, Lower Tank Bund locality, Gandhi Nagar and Old Nallakunta
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