Congress ticket aspirant NRI Srinivasa Reddy woos Adilabad with pressure cookers

Adilabad: It is no wolf whistle but the one given out by the pressure cookers being gifted by NRI Kandi Srinivasa Reddy is also meant to get the attention of women voters.

Yes, this aspirant of a Congress party nomination in the ensuing general elections from Adilabad Assembly constituency, is gifting a pressure cooker to each of the estimated 55,000 voter families in the constituency as part of his social work programme.

According to the campaign managers of the aspirant, the outlay for the gift scheme taken up as part of the activities of the social work organisation, Kandi Srinivasa Reddy Foundation runs into a few crore of rupees as each of the 5 litre cooker costs just over Rs. 1,000. The intial order is for 32,000 of the thermodynamic systems of cooking which will cover the 28,000 families in the Adilabad district head quarter town.

The package box of the cooker has a picture of the 'philanthropist' NRI on all four sides and an appeal in English and Hindi seeking the blessings of the 'beneficiary'. The container itself has his laser embossed image.

"This cannot, by any stretch of imagination be considered as bribing the voters. In fact the voters, many of whom suffer from various health issues deserve such things which is why my opponents should also launch similar programmes," observed Srinivasa Reddy and went on to count the health and other benefits of cooking food in a pressure cooker.

"The idea was borrowed from the election campaign of Nara Bharat Reddy who won the Bellary seat in the May 2023 Karnataka Assembly election . It was his move to distribute pressure cookers five months before the polling that is believed to have paid off," pointed out a campaign manager in Adilabad.

Srinivasa Reddy, hailing from Hasnapur village in Tamsi mandal of Adilabad district, is into Information Technology based at Texas, USA. He had entered the local political firmament as a BJP supporter about a year back by taking up social work programmes like providing ambulance services to the needy besides supplying potable water to stress areas in the constituency and handing over wedding gift packs containing a pattu (silk) sree and a towel to an estimated 300 newlywed couples.

The NRI jumped ship after reportedly being assured of a ticket by the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president A. Revanth Reddy. The going for him, however, is not as smooth as it may look as he is faced with stiff opposition within the party.

The aspirant, who swears he has entered politics only to wipe off the tears of the eyes of the voters in the constituency carries with him the halo of a rich benefactor. While his supporters say this will ensure him the voters' backing, his detractors say that he is 'showing' off and therefore will not be liked by the poor.

Whatever be the inclination of the voters, Srinivasa Reddy has created more than a ripple in the political circles becoming a familiar name. His opponents are apparently finding it difficult to keep up pace with his rather expeditious style of campaigning in the constituency.