18 in fray for Malkajgiri Assembly seat

18 in fray for Malkajgiri Assembly seat Marri Ramu

Main contest will be among Congress, TDP, PR and BJP

---

Congress, TDP, BJP field BC candidates, PR contestant is from a forward community Candidates of the major parties refrain from making tall promises to people

---

. — Photos: P.V. SIVAKUMAR Reaching out: Congress candidate for Malkajgiri Akula Rajender campaigning at Yapral on Thursday. (Centre) Praja Rayam candidate C. Kanaka Reddy exchanging greetings with residents during his campaign. (Right) Residents of SP Nagar explaining their problems to TDP candidate Sharada Mahesh

HYDERABAD: It being the first election after formation of the Malkajgiri Assembly constituency, history will be in the making when voters here press the buttons of Electronic Voting Machines electing their first MLA on April 16.

Though there are 18 candidates in the fray in this Assembly segment, the key contest will be among Akula Rajender of the Congress, C. Kanaka Reddy of the Praja Rajyam (PR), Sharada Mahesh of the Telugu Desam (TDP) and M. Bala Lingam of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Interestingly, G. Suryanarayana Reddy, a rebel candidate of the Congress, is also in the fray.

The Congress, TDP and BJP candidates had earlier worked as councillor, chairperson and vice-chairman of Malkajgiri municipality respectively. This gave them an edge over their PR rival though the latter too was in public life for quite some time.

Strong network

The Congress, TDP and BJP candidates have strong network in Malkajgiri but are relatively new to Alwal from where the PR nominee, Mr. Kanaka Reddy, hails.

Another interesting factor about this constituency is that while all the three major parties have fielded candidates from backward castes, the PR chose the candidate from a forward community.

Mr. Rajender kicked off his campaign at Yapral promising people to solve all local issues -- from creating a separate police station for the area to improve infrastructure in government schools. “Congress government’s people welfare measures will win votes for me,” he exuded confidence.

Ms. Sharada Mahesh is banking on the works she executed during her tenure as Malkajgiri Municipal Chairperson.

“Give me one more chance to serve you, I will show you how I can make a difference,” she assured voters at S.P. Nagar.

Mr. Kanaka Reddy is relying on his party president and actor Chiranjeevi’s image. “We will serve you better than all the present parties and leaders.” he told the public at JLS Nagar.

But BJP candidate, Mr. Bala Lingam, is questioning what the earlier public representatives have done pointing to the water scarcity at JLS Nagar. “I will fight to get RTC buses even to remote parts of the constituency,” he told the people.

But all of them were careful enough not to make tall promises. With 14 more days left for the polls, they are yet to read the minds of the people who only nod to anything the candidates say.