Set amidst lush green paddy fields along the giant canals of the Nagarjunsagar irrigation project, the the Huzurnagar Assembly constituency in Telangana was a picture of serenity until the bye-election bugle was sounded. With over 2.36 lakhs voters and 28 candidates, Huzurnagar is now the venue for a political battle, as it is set to go to polling on October 21.
The bye-election was necessitated by the Telangana Congress Chief and MLA Uttam Kumar Reddy's resignation following his election to Lok Sabha in May.
The tussle over capturing the Huzurnagar Assembly seat has garnered political significance as the election comes at a time when Congress has lost its main opposition status with 12 out of its 19 MLAs shifting to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) camp.
The bye-election has also become an equally crucial litmus test for TRS as it comes almost a year after it won the state. While Huzurnagar is witnessing a high decibel campaign like any other, with vehicles crisscrossing the constituency, the voters appear not to be as invested in the bye-election as the political class.
The Congress has fielded Padmavathi Reddy, wife of Uttam Kumar while the ruling TRS fielded former NRI S Saidi Reddy who lost to Uttam by just over 7000 votes in 2018. The BJP, which lost its deposit in 2018, has fielded Dr Kota Ramarao. Journalist-turned-politician Teenmaar Mallanna is also contesting independently besides several others.
Decoding Huzurnagar
Huzurnagar constituency is on the Andhra -Telangana border and has a mixed demography. According to local political observers, the constituency comprises more than 50% population of Backward Classes. Yet, no mainstream party has fielded the candidate from the community except the BJP.
In Huzurnagar, agriculture is the primary occupation with abundant water resources and cultivable land. However, two dominant castes; Reddys and Kammas, rule the roost, as is evident from the candidates. Both the TRS and the Congress have fielded candidates from the Reddy community. The presence of Teenmaar Mallanna in the fray has brought in a new political discourse of social justice.
Indifference, disillusionment and skepticism
TNM visited a few villages in at least four mandals out of the seven in Huzurnagar to assess the situation on the ground.
T Tarun, a B.Tech graduate in Huzurnagar said that the election has become a personal affair between the rich and powerful in the area, who have renounced people’s issues. When asked about the issues on the ground, Tarun opens his phone and shows a picture of a road riddled with potholes.
"These are the real issues. A person was severely injured right in front of my eyes, but no one is talking about this or cares. I'm sure nothing would happen, whoever wins," he says.
Huzurnagar has witnessed back-to-back elections, beginning with the Assembly Elections in December 2018, followed by the Lok Sabha polls in May, and more recently the Local Body Elections. This appears to have voters disinterested in the bye-election.
In Nereducharla, a tiny mandal cum Gram Panchayat, several people this reporter spoke to, barring those with political association, claimed they did not know what the bye-election could offer them.
Lakshmi, 45, a tender coconut vendor said, "Uttam came last time. He won and resigned. Now his wife wants to do something. Nothing will change for us. I'm not saying that we don't have problems at all, but politicians are not ready to address them."
Referring to KCR’s 2BHK scheme, Navneet, 30, a farmer said, "This is the third time we are going to vote hoping we will get double bedroom houses, but not sure if this promise will be fulfilled at least this time."
While TRS is banking on KCR's welfare measures and schemes, Congress is claiming that Padmavathi will carry forward his legacy of infrastructure development in the constituency.
Konatham Seetharam Reddy, a senior Congressman and political observer said, "This election is standing out to be different from the usual. All the parties have deployed their top brass and strategists here."
Bangaru Babu, a youth Congress leader said, "Padmavathi Reddy is well connected with people unlike the TRS candidate. If she wins, she will question KCR and get what is due to us."
Krishna Murthy, a TRS leader and staunch supporter of Saidi Reddy said, "Saidi Reddy visited each and every village in our constituency at least six to seven times, if Uttam or Padmavathi can utter these village names correctly we can believe she is a challenge to us. Congress is unable to bear the support that Saidi Reddy enjoys and is labelling him a 'non local'."
Both the parties were also seen holding community-wise internal meetings. A person who attended such a meeting told TNM that the party would take care of their community if they win.
Having won the seat in 2018, the Congress wants to show that it is still a strong contendor in the state, while the TRS wants to sweep the bye-polls to show that the wave is still in their favour, and dismiss allegations of ‘misgovernace’.