Secunderabad Cantonment: How Congress, BRS, BJP are trying to woo working class in this urban constituency

Hyderabad: Hyderabad is incomplete without Secunderabad. In fact, both cities complement each other in Telangana.

Secunderabad is one of the oldest areas of Hyderabad and it saw most of its development ages ago. All eyes are on the seat given that it has the highest concentration of the local population.

The polling for the 119-member Legislative Assembly will be held on November 30. The results will be announced on December 3.

Secunderabad Constituency

Secunderabad Assembly seat is part of the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency within the urban landscape of Hyderabad district. This constituency holds significance for Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which officially became the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in 2022. TRS won twice in 2014 and 2018 from this constituency. BRS’ T Padma Rao represented the constituency in the outgoing assembly.

Secunderabad constituency boasts a total of 2,37,955 registered voters, comprising 1,21,223 men, 1,16,708 women, and 24 others. In the 2018 Telangana elections, Secunderabad recorded a voter turnout of 55.39%, while in 2014, the turnout stood at 57.00%.

In the 2018 Assembly election, TRS nominated T Padma Rao, while the Congress fielded Kasani Gnaneshwar Mudhiraj. the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielded Satish, and the BSP chose Madan Mohan Vemulawada as their candidate. In 2018, the Secunderabad constituency was won by the TRS candidate with a margin of 45,470 votes against the INC candidate.

Who has been given a ticket this time?

Mekala Sarangapani has been fielded by the BJP. He is pitted against T Padma Rao of BRS and Adam Santhosh Kumar of Congress.

After nearly 17 years, local candidate Adam Santhosh Kumar has been fielded for the seat. Santhosh Kumar is a grassroots leader who has risen through the ranks. He commenced his journey as NSUI Vice President in 1984 and subsequently held the position of BC cell General Secretary of the Youth Congress in undivided Andhra Pradesh. He was also NSUI Hyderabad City Joint Secretary in 1987 and later became the Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee in 2013.

While pursuing his college education, Santosh Kumar simultaneously embarked on a career within the Indian Railways. He garnered significant influence by being elected to two prominent railway unions -- National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) and the South Central Railway Employees Sangh (S.C.R.E.S). Both of these unions are affiliated with INTUC (Indian National Trade Union Congress). Afterward, he opted for voluntary retirement from the railways and joined active politics.

“I have been trying hard to get the ticket for the last four years. After 17 years, a local candidate is contesting for the assembly here. Even my wife Adam Uma Devi is a politician. She is a two-time Corporator. I am sure the locals here will give me a chance,” he said

Shyamsundar Reddy, a vegetable shop owner in Tukaram Gate said, “This area and the locality needs a lot of development. Every politician promises that he will do it but we hardly see any development. This is a slum area. Roads are not proper at all. No proper commute into the other lanes. People here are working people and they do not belong to the business background. So there is a need for frequent buses because we always cannot depend on sharing autos. We need someone who addresses these issues.”

Kanakamma, a resident said, “Wine shops are another nuisance. Roads are narrow and those who come to buy alcohol, park their vehicles randomly. Many working women come home between 8 PM to 9 PM and they do not feel safe with alcoholics roaming around.”

T Padma Rao has been the MLA for the Secunderabad constituency for the last ten years. He is all set to contest once again and,

Karri Narayana, a 60-year-old retired employee said, “Before the formation of Telangana too, Padma Rao was popular in this constituency. He promised a lot of things and kept most of them. He made sure there was enough water. The slum areas do not face water problems. Huge developments cannot be expected in this area as it is a residential and not commercial area. So these leaders have to focus on people’s problems. Padma Rao has done many things that went unnoticed.”