Serilingampally: The rise of Yadavs in Gandhi’s pocket borough

Hyderabad: The political landscape in Telangana is heating up with the polling for the 2023 state Legislative Assembly elections approaching fast. In the Serilingampally constituency, the battle is set to be fierce, with multiple names rising into prominence in political discussions and debates among the residents.

BRS has already announced the incumbent MLA Arekapudi Gandhi as their candidate to represent Serilingampally. Congress has announced names for 55 seats which doesn’t feature Serilingampally, and the BJP is yet to release its first list of MLA candidates.

However, going by public opinion and sources in the party, a few names have been making rounds. First timer Raghunath Yadav and TRS corporator Jagadeeshwar Goud who switched party is now likely to be the Congress candidates and Ravi Yadav of the BJP are vying for their respective party tickets. With the Serilingampally constituency being one of the biggest constituencies in Hyderabad, everyone is hoping for an intense political showdown.

Correction!
With Promise of MLA Ticket to TRS Corporator Jagdish Goud & his wife(Corporator) joined Congress, ticket to Raghunath Yadav gets tough

& senior BJP candidate Movva Satynarayana who lost with 1500 votes from TDP from Kamma Community also in Ticket race from BJP

— Srinivas 🇮🇳 (@ssrini2020) October 18, 2023

A multicultural melting pot

The areas that come under the Serilingampally constituency are Serilingampally, Miyapur, Gachibowli, Madhapur, Chandanagar, part of Balanagar, Kukatpally (M) - Ward No 1 to 4, Vivekananda Nagar Colony, BHEL Township, Allwyn Colony, Kondapur and Hafeezpet.

The Serilingampally constituency has a huge number of settlers and their families who have become residents of the state, especially those who work in the IT sector. Serilingampally is a major IT hub and many IT professionals choose to live here as the area, while being residential, is pretty close to their offices.

Besides people who have come from other parts of Telangana, many from North India and Andhra Pradesh have migrated to this area.

Polling numbers below required numbers

Sagar Goud, a resident of the constituency, said, “It is undeniable that the political scenario keeps changing, which is true for the Serilingampally constituency too. A majority of the people here are North Indians and most of them are supporters of the BJP. Although they won’t be casting their votes in Telangana, some of them don’t favour a BRS government.”

Challa Shobhan, a CPI(M) member from the Serilingampally constituency, said, “There are close to 20 lakh people living here but no more than 52 per cent of polling was ever recorded. Most of the people here who are from Telangana go to their hometowns to vote and the settlers, though they get a voter ID for proof of address, do not cast their votes. It is one of the biggest constituencies and I have been observing the polling numbers since its inception in 2009, in 2014 and 2018. The polling percentage never went past 52 per cent.”

Shobhan added that most of the Serilingampally residents support BRS and there is a high chance of Arekapudi Gandhi getting reelected.

Family trouble

Arekapudi Gandhi, representing the BRS party, is a seasoned politician known for his grassroots work and strong local connections.

A face-off between Congress’ Raghunath Yadav – a first-time candidate, if selected – and Ravi Yadav of the BJP would be interesting as both are cousins. A competition between them would be quite competitive and personal. However TRS Corporator, now a Congress leader Jadeeshwar Goud is likely to be finalized. The candidate has a good hold on the ground and had won the GHMC elections.

Ravi Yadav is the son of Bikshapathi Yadav, a former MLA from the same legislative from 2009-2014. However, since the names have not been declared yet it is anybody’s game. For example, Gajjala Yoganand is going head to head with Ravi Yadav as he has also applied for a party ticket from the BJP.