Afsar Khan’s reputation of a hooligan and troublemaker is not not borne out during a ‘padayatra’ as he shakes hands and flashes his best smile when moving around parts of Karwan assembly constituency with a band of supporters.
The 58-year-old sitting MIM MLA walks through Muslim-dominated Moti Darwaza and Toli Chowki areas, misses a step on the potholed roads, but promises better infrastructure if he wins another term.
His opponent from BJP, D Karunakar, who was earlier a corporater, believes that Afsar Khan’s image has taken a beating with his acts of hooliganism. “Educated Muslims have decided to vote against him,” he claims.
Small wonder then that MIM workers knock the doors and ‘summon’ residents to shake hands with ‘their’ MLA, who is contesting for the third term. “Dekho Afsar Khan aayen hain aap se milne (See, Afsar Khan has come to meet you)” they announce. This time, it is the house of a 26-year-old businessman Mohammed Parvez, who rushes out, holding his son. As the sitting MLA requests him to vote for MIM, Parvez assures him “zaroor zaroor,’’ (sure) and a confident Khan moves ahead.
BJP’s D Karunakar, 45, too is undertaking a similar ‘padayatra’, in the Hindu-dominated Jiyaguda area. BJP had had a consecutive three-term run in this constituency before MIM established its supremacy.
Karwan has a mix of posh neighbourhoods and slums. Strangely, the area does not have a single government junior college. The only government school here is in a pathetic state. “I have been living in this area for over five decades, but haven’t not seen any change. Pothole-ridden roads, no sewer lines, inadequate water and power supply,” says 59-year-old M Shankaraiah, a bangle store owner in Karwan, listing problems here. Shankaraiah is a Congress supporter.
Karwan was a communally sensitive constituency till the 1990s. Though the situation has changed now, women still fear venturing out after 8 pm. “With no street lights, the roads wear a deserted look after 9 pm. And there is no transportation,” B Usha, 28, who works in a store in Secunderabad, said. The APSRTC operates just one service to the area, which also does not stick to the schedule forcing many to depend on auto rickshaws.
Ashraf Begum, a 35-year-old homemaker from Tallagadda, seeks better government healthcare services here. “Due to contamination of drinking water, children are falling sick frequently. Civic officials do not sweep the area. Piling garbage dumpsalso cause health problems,” Ashraf, a supporter of MIM said.
A first-time candidate for another party, R Manik Prabhu, 55, who is also the secretary of the Twin Cities Vegetable Market Welfare Association, said, “There is only one government hospital in Golconda, hardly functioning properly. Same is the case with the only school. If voted to power, I will change the face of Karwan,” Prabhu said.
Congress has fielded T Roop Singh, CPM K Srinivas Reddy and BSP M Kalidhar from this constituency.
The sitting MLA spins a development story to justify his claim for the third term. “Works worth Rs 130 crores have been taken up during my term. A Rs 3.5-crore water line was laid and an electric sub-station was set up. An outlet for draining storm water was created for the convenience of Nadeem Colony residents,” Khan added.
Due to delimitation, three divisions were shifted to the newly-created Assembly constituencies. The voters elected MIM in 1999 and 2004.
FACT SHEET: KARWAN
Total electorate | 2,19,663
Male voters | 1,13,556,
Female voters | 1,06,107
Main Areas: Toli Chowki, Badabanda, Imampura, Jiyaguda, Sabzimandi, Karwan, Tappachabutra, Lodhshetriya Nagar, Tallagadda, Joshiwadi, Jaffarguda, Bapughat, Langer Houz, Hasimnagar, Prabhatnagar, Pensionpura, Bapunagar, MD Lines, Mehraj Colony, Hakeempet, Kakatiya Nagar, Ibrahimbagh, Ramdevguda, Salehnagar, Bada Bazar, Chota Bazar, Risala Bazar, Khazigalli, Jinsi Bazar, Rethi Galli, Takhat Bowli and Heer Khana
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