Chandrayangutta Constituency: Chandrayangutta lacks department yet voters have no choice

Hyderabad: With the lack of prominent Opposition face in Chandrayangutta constituency, the voter’s options are very less. The aspiring candidates, BJP’s Syed Shehzadi and Congress’s Esa Bin Misri are unproven in big time politics. Voters are sceptical of them. In a friendly fight the ruling BRS is fielding M Sitharam Reddy from the segment. The MIM’s rival party MBT remains only a vocal critic. An AIMIM strongman known for his fiery speeches, Akbaruddin Owaisi, the party floor leader, might be seeking his sixth term in the upcoming elections. With over 70 per cent of the population belonging to the minority community, this constituency in the Old City has been dominated by two political parties— AIMIM and MBT. It is one of the 15 constituencies in the city. In 1994 the then rebel MIM candidate Amanullah Khan, who floated his own party MBT, won the Chandrayangutta seat. Since 1999 Akbaruddin has been an MLA. Every Opposition party blames the Majlis for not developing the constituency and claims there is no educational growth and national unity. However, Akbaruddin each time retorts development works, which include establishing Basti Dawakhana, schools, flyover projects, road widening and other works. To his rival party MBT Owaisi asks “I want to ask what you did when you were in power?”. He always says that he spends several crores from his pocket for various works, while others spend only the MLA funds. Akbaruddin, who got 68 percent and 60 percent votes polled in the 2018 and 2014 elections, is a formidable challenge for the other parties as they have to share the remaining votes among themselves. The love for Majlis in people of the Old City, particularly in the minority community, brings them to polling booths in large numbers–95,341 (2018) and 80,393 (2014) in elections. However, the BJP each time claims that the Muslim society in Chandrayangutta is against AIMIM. Political analysts say each time a dozen candidates will be contesting for the segment, including major parties Congress, BJP, and rival party MBT. But all failed to defeat Akbaruddin since the last five terms. In 2018 he won with 95,341 total polled votes with a majority of 80,264 votes. The Chandrayangutta area is a hub for Defence Research and Defence Organisation in Telangana. It comprises Chandrayangutta, Barkas, Bandlaguda, Moin Bagh, Jangammet, Rakshapuram, Edi Bazar, Uppuguda and other areas.