KNOW YOUR MPs Did you know that Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has been among the topmost performers in the Lok Sabha and has been honoured with the Sansad Ratna 2014 award? INNLIVE compiles a quick snapshot of MPs from Hyderabad and adjoining urban constituencies.
Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Andhra Pradesh has assumed special significance in national politics because of the Telangana issue. The formation of a separate Telangana state is definitely poised to create a great impact on the overall political scenario in the region and will change political equations and calculations not only in the state, but at the national level too. The city of the Nizams has gained a lot of attention this time and is being carefully watched.
Hyderabad has a total of three Lok Sabha constituencies, Hyderabad, Secunderabad, and Malkajgiri. Twin city got its third constituency Malkajgiri in the 2009 general election as an outcome of delimitation.
The Congress, the ruling party in the state, clearly has a strong hold in Hyderabad; the BJP has not gained much in terms of winning seats, but nevertheless has reasonably good vote share in the urban area. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen or AIMIM, which has been uninterruptedly winning the Hyderabad seat for three decades, is still going strong.
The other regional parties like TDP, TRS etc have not put up a great show in the Lok Sabha elections till now. But, this time the whole power equation might change, because of the varied sentiments of voters and issues entangled with the formation of the Telangana state. However, irrespective of the Telangana angle, voters will be interested to review the parliamentary record of their leaders in the 15th Lok Sabha.
Asaduddin Owaisi | Constituency: Hyderabad
Since 1984, voters in the Hyderabad constituency have not changed their loyalty towards the Owaisi family. After voting in Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi of AIMIM to power for six consecutive terms, they continued in their undeterred loyalty towards the family, by voting for his elder son Asaduddin Owaisi.
After being elected to the legislative assembly twice, Asaduddin entered parliament for the first time in 2004, when his father stepped down. In the 2009 election, Owaisi further strengthened his position, not only by defeating his nearest contender Zahid Ali Khan of the TDP by more than 1 lakh votes, but also improving his vote share.
Owaisi, even as he plays a dual role as the AIMIM president, is considered a top performer in the Lok Sabha. He has also been honoured with the Sansad Ratna 2014 award for his overall performance in the 15th Lok Sabha.
Controversies during tenure: Though Asaduddin is not as controversial as his younger brother Akbaruddin Owaisi, on 20 January 2013, he surrendered before a Hyderabad court in connection with a 9-year-old case against him and was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days. In 2005, Asaduddin and Akbaruddin, along with other MIM activists, allegedly abused the then Collector and local police inspector of Medak district in the wake of demolition of a Masjid as part of the widening of the Hyderabad-Mumbai National Highway. It was said that the demolition was carried out without the approval of the Wakf.
Asaduddin also created controversy when he strongly spoke against BJP leader Narendra Modi and actor Salman Khan’s proximity. Asaduddin criticised bollywood actor Salman Khan for meeting and praising Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi in a kite flying festival in Ahmadabad and prompted his followers to not to watch and boycott his movie Jai Ho. Though Salman said it was just for the promotion of his film and he did nothing wrong by meeting Modi, Owaisi dismissed the actor as a mere “Nachne gane wala actor”. Owaisi’s public speeches are always known for its anti Modi criticisms.
Asaduddin Owaisi has actively participated in many debates and discussion, and is considered as the voice of minorities in the house. He has initiated many discussions related to minority groups and communal issues. He is also a member of the parliamentary committee on defense.
The Secunderabad constituency has been a Congress bastion over the last two terms. M Anjan Kumar Yadav of the Congress emerged victorious against BJP senior leader and three-time MP Bandaru Dattatreya, twice consecutively.
Yadav who handed an unexpected defeat to BJP’s Bandaru Dattatreya in the 2004 election performed well in the 2009 elections too, beating his old rival with a rather impressive score. He improved his victory margin from 68,758 votes in 2004 to 1, 64,124 votes in 2009.
Yadav is largely considered a non-controversial political personality in Andhra Pradesh.
Issues taken up: The Secunderabad MP’s voice was rarely heard in the 15th Lok Sabha as he never participated in any debate. A majority of his questions were in the unstarred category and related to the common man’s problems such as price hike, fuel scarcity, problems with LPG cylinders etc. He is a member of the parliamentary committee on finance.
This constituency, which came into existence in 2008 following the implementation of delimitation, has been to polls only once so far. In 2009, Sarvey Sathyanarayana of the Congress won over his nearest contender Bheemsen T of TDP by more than 90,000 votes.
Sarvey Sathyanarayana who quit government service to take a plunge in politics was a trade union leader. He served as member of the Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly from 1985-89 and contested parliamentary elections for the first time from Siddipet in 2004, and won.
Sathyanarayana entered the Lok Sabha for a consecutive second term in 2009 by winning the new Malkajgiri constituency. His unflinching loyalty towards the Congress party paid off when he became a minister of State in the Union Cabinet for Road Transport and Highways in 2012.
Issues taken up: Sarvey Sathyanarayana is a minister, but his participation in the proceedings of the House has not been noteworthy. Before being sworn in as a minister, Sathyanarayana had raised a few questions pertaining to his constituency and also participated in discussions related to the formation of Telangana. However, since his induction as a minister, his participation in the House has been restricted to laying papers and government bills on the table.
One thing to note about the assets of both Sarvey Sathyanarayana and M Anjan Kumar Yadav is that in the five years of their first term as MP, their assets multiplied substantially. Sarvey Sathyanarayana whose declared asset in 2004 was Rs 11,10,000 added much to his property by 2009 to make it Rs 1,01,12,521! Similarly, M Anjan Kumar Yadav’s asset increased from Rs 42,50,700 to Rs 2,06,20,697 in five years. Asaduddin Owaisi grew richer too, but at a comparatively slower pace as his assets went up from Rs 39,02,342 to Rs 93,02,233.
MPLADS Funds Utilization
Under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme, all the MPs are entitled to Rs 19 crore, to be used in developmental works of their respective constituencies. From 2011 onwards, this amount for each MP has been increased to 5 crore annum. The leader has the choice to use this amount and suggest to the District Collector developmental work to be taken up in his/her constituency.
All three MPs have scored fairly well in this regard by using available funds for developmental works.
Details of funds utilised by the respective MPs can be seen by clicking on the following links:
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