One crore vote bank: Parties rush to help Gulf migrants, families

Hyderabad: The Gulf Workers Political Forum is debating and arranging major nominations in Telangana Assembly constituencies affected by issues surrounding Gulf migration. The Gulf JAC (Telangana Gulf Workers Joint Action Committee) was created by the Telangana diaspora groups in the Gulf countries and the Telangana migrant workers’ unions.

KCR’s pledges to Gulf workers have gone unfulfilled for the past eight and a half years. As a result, in the eyes of Gulf workers and their families, the ruling BRS has become a villain. Opposition parties in the Gulf-affected north Telangana are carefully planning for elections with the grievances of Gulf workers at the forefront of their agenda.

Political Gulf wind

Opposition parties such as the Telangana Congress, BJP, BSP, YSRTP, and Forward Bloc are taking to the streets with padayatras and other events. In the spirit of the motto, “Decide what your politics should be when politics decides everything in your life.” Family members of Gulf workers are speaking out to participate in politics. They are considering returning political power to the people at the lowest possible cost by putting an end to the pricey corporate political forces.

The Gulf Workers Political Forum is debating and arranging major nominations in Telangana Assembly constituencies affected by the Gulf. They intend to use the elections as a method to accomplish Gulf Board and NRI policy goals, similar to the turmeric Board movement.

On the other hand, it appears that the main political parties, the Congress and the BJP, are considering offering MLA seats to Gulf migrant leaders. Singireddy Naresh Reddy, Convenor of the Telangana State Congress Committee’s NRI Cell Gulf Unit, is running for the Korutla or Vemulawada ticket. Narendra Panneru, the Gulf Middle East Convenor of the Telangana BJP NRI cell, is vying for the Jagtial ticket.

32 Gulf migrant-populated Assembly Constituencies

Various political parties conducted polls and identified Assembly constituencies with considerable migration to the Gulf and influence of Gulf families’ votes. Prashant Kishore’s team of political strategists is at the forefront of this information. According to reports, the teams of political consultants Suneel Konugolu and Revanth Reddy (RR) have also examined the Gulf’s influence. The information was gathered by the state administration via police intelligence.

According to Bheem Reddy Mandha, an analyst of Gulf migration events, there are 32 Gulf-affected Assembly constituencies in Telangana based on several surveys and direct encounters with Gulf labour unions. The list excludes the Greater Hyderabad and Old City areas. According to him, the constituencies are divided into two categories based on the number of voters and the intensity of impact.

14 Constituencies in Category-A (Impact of 25,000 to 30,000 votes): Nirmal, Mudhole, Khanapur (ST), Vemulawada, Sircilla, Choppadandi (SC), Balkonda, Armoor, Korutla, Jagtial, Dharmapuri (SC), Yellareddy, Kamareddy, Nizamabad Rural.

18 Constituencies in Category-B (Impact of 10,000 to 20,000 votes): Adilabad, Mancherial, Karimnagar, Huzurabad, Husnabad, Manakondur (SC), Nizamabad Urban, Bodhan, Peddapalli, Devarakadra, Makthal, Medak, Siddipet, Dubbaka, Nalgonda, Miryalaguda, Bhuvanagiri, Parigi.

One crore vote bank

Telangana lawmakers’ visits to the Gulf countries have risen in recent years. Over 15 lakh Telangana residents live and work in the Gulf countries. Around 30 lakh individuals have returned from the Gulf in the last 20 years and settled in villages. The Gulf vote bank totals one crore persons, including family members.

The previous budget made no provision for the well-being of Gulf workers. The state government, which provided financial aid to farmers who died in Punjab, did not provide any assistance to Telangana migrants who perished in the Gulf. The government ignored a complete NRI policy with a Gulf Welfare Board, an annual budget of Rs 500 crore for welfare, and Rs 5 lakhs ex gratia for the Gulf deceased. TRS lost the Lok Sabha seats of Nizamabad, Adilabad, and Karimnagar in 2019, all of which have a high proportion of Gulf migrants. The Gulf problem was a major reason for Kalvakuntla Kavitha’s defeat in the Nizamabad Lok Sabha elections in 2019.