Battle Royale: Late Naxal leader’s daughter Nagajyothi takes on former Naxal Seethakka in Mulugu

Telangana: A late Naxal leader’s daughter is among seven women given tickets by BRS to contest the forthcoming assembly poll.

Bade Nageshwar Rao alias Prabhakar’s daughter Bade Nagajyothi will be contesting from Mulugu, an ST-reserved constituency. She will contest against the sitting Congress MLA Seethakka, who is also a former Naxalite.

The Mulugu constituency is now in the spotlight, as a high-profile battle begins between two leaders.

Mulugu constituency has been a battleground between the Telugu Desam Party and the Congress Party for many years. Both parties have won the seat multiple times. In 2009, Seethakka became the first woman to contest and win the seat on the TDP ticket.

The TRS (now BRS) won the seat only in 2014 but lost to Seethakka, who had contested for Congress in 2018. Seethakka is currently seeking a third term, as she believes she has a good chance of being represented in the cabinet if Congress forms the government.

KCR, on the other hand, has chosen Bade Nagajyothi, the daughter of a late Naxalite, in an attempt to win the Mulugu constituency and turn it into a strong BRS bastion.

Bade Nagajyothi

Bade Nagajyothi, the daughter of late Naxalite Bade Nageshwar Rao alias Prabhakar, entered politics after her father died in police operations in 2018. She won the Sarpanch seat in Kalavapalli of the Mulugu constituency in 2019. She then joined the TRS (now BRS) and won the ZPTC election from Tadwai Mandal. She is now the ZP chairperson.

Nagajyothi's reaction to being picked by KCR for the constituency went viral on the internet.

Bade Nagajyothi told News Meter that she is confident of winning the forthcoming election. She said that her selection for the constituency is a message that people from humble backgrounds can still come forward to serve the poor.

She added that Mulugu is her home and she will win there. When asked how she is preparing to take on Seethakka, she replied "Seethakka does not come from a Maoist background, but from the Janashakti group. Also, she has become popular only after COVID-19. But my father, Bade Prabhakar, has been known to the public for decades for his work. The public is with us."

Seethakka

Dansari Anasuya, alias Seethakka joined the Naxalite group 'Janashakti' when she was 14. She spent 11 years with the group but eventually decided to quit and surrender to the police in 1997. She then pursued her academic career and became a lawyer. Seethakka entered politics for the first time in 2004 when she contested on a TDP ticket. She was unsuccessful, but she won the next election in 2009. However, she lost the 2014 election due to the Telangana sentiment, which favored the BRS candidate.

In 2017, Seethakka joined the Congress and won the 2018 election from Mulugu. She is currently the general secretary of the All India Mahila Congress and the in-charge of the Chhattisgarh Mahila Congress. She also completed her Ph.D. in Political Science from Osmania University in 2022.

Seethakka is also known for winning appreciation from the KCR's son KTR on many occasions. However, Telangana Congress Chief Revanth Reddy's remarks in the USA about Seethakka's potential as CM stoked controversy. Senior Congress leaders rebutted their chief saying Revanth's words were not final. Although the Congress has not yet released its list of candidates, the sitting MLA Seethakka is all likely to run again from the party.

Speaking to the NewsMeter MLA Seethakka said she has the support of people across the state and Mulugu is her home. "There is no strategy or tricks involved. KCR has no candidate to contest against me, so he had to pick one. I am always on the ground for my people in Mulugu and they will support me in the forthcoming election. Also, I have a good reputation in public. BRS couldn’t have fielded a candidate here. I will win again. This can be seen in any surveys done here," Seethakka added.