Khammam: Battling anti-incumbency, Transport Minister Ajay Puvvada dismisses Congress' Nageswara Rao as 'white elephant'

Khammam: Khammam, also known as mini Andhra Pradesh in Telangana, is witnessing a neck-to-neck electoral battle between Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar from BRS and five-time MLA Thummala Nageswara Rao from Congress. Both the leaders are from the Kamma community, a powerful group.

Khammam is considered one of the swing districts in Telangana elections. It is to be recalled that the BRS won only one of the ten seats in the erstwhile Khammam in the 2018 elections.

If Ajay wins this election, this will be hattrick for him. However, anti-incumbency, and discontentment among the working class, especially the teachers are stacked against him.

When NewsMeter did a Ground Report in Khammam, many working-class groups alleged delays in salaries.

There were allegations against BRS leaders in Khammam who are said to have been involved in land grabbing. A resident of Khammam said that in the last few years, the land rates in Khammam have increased, which is highest after Hyderabad. Even during the auction, the lands are mostly given to the ruling party members, and common people are left in the lurch. The benefits of schemes only reach BRS leaders’ henchmen and not the common man.

The undivided Khammam on the Andhra Pradesh border is different from the rest of Telangana as people here are culturally considered close to the neighboring state. Even at the peak of the Telangana movement and after the formation of Telangana, the BRS had not gained a foothold in the district. The district houses a large number of people who either migrated from Andhra Pradesh or have family relations across the border.

In an interview with NewsMeter, Ajay Puvvada shares his achievements and development scenario in his constituency. Excerpts:

Q. Any MLA contesting for the third time faces anti-incumbency. You too are facing certain incumbency. How are you going to address the issue?

A. Anti-incumbency is a factor that we are working on right now. We are trying to seek votes on the work done. We are trying to remind people of the work the BRS government has done in critical times.

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Q. Can you identify some of your development works?

There was no proper bus stand in Khammam. As a transport minister, I have brought a mini-airport recently.

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Q. What reforms have you brought in Telangana?

A. Online services have ended the middle-men system and prevented corruption in the RTA offices.

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Q. How did online bidding for fancy numbers eradicate corruption?

A. There is no human interference in online bidding for fancy numbers. Everyone should go for online bidding. In 2022, the state generated Rs 74 crore from the fancy numbers auction. This year, we could get Rs 150 crore.

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Q. How many vehicles are registered in the state?

A. At the time of state formation, the number of vehicles was 71 lakh. Today, we have 1.51 crore vehicles.

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Q. How are you going to take on Thummala Nageswara Rao?

A. I have defeated the white elephant in the 2014 elections. I was contesting for the first time, and he was the sitting MLA.

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