MANTHANI: Inside the Gouda community building in Manthani Assembly constituency, a group of people were sitting around, reading their vernacular dailies, and having a quiet chat amongst themselves about caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s meeting on Friday. When asked how the elections have been going so far, after a brief pause of hesitation, one of them said that it was going to be a tough battle between the TRS and the Congress parties.
Meanwhile, a toddy tapper named KVK Goud — his pink shirt throwing his loyalties into stark relief — said that the TRS supremo would bring the local toddy to the national forefront as he has already struck a deal with pharmaceutical companies who would pack and sell their liquor in ‘fancy bottles’. “Why would we even consider voting for other parties when the TRS is doing so much for us?” he asks.
Manthani, a part of erstwhile Karimnagar district, is geographically the largest Assembly constituency in Telangana bordering the state of Chattisgarh. It was here that former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao won four consecutive times — in 1957, 1962, 1967 and 1972 — as an MLA.
The TRS candidate in Manthani and former MLA Putta Madhu, who has his hands full with the caretaker Chief Minister visiting the constituency, said that the TRS government had initiated several welfare schemes including free mid-day meals in government junior colleges and conducting mass weddings of about 205 couples. “TRS will have an edge in Manthani because of all the schemes undertaken by us. We would definitely win with a thumping majority,” he said.
However, the people of Kudurpalli and Koyyur villages in Kataram mandal seemed disillusioned with the party. They had supported TRS in the previous elections and are now mulling over changing their loyalties.
Support has reportedly been growing for Congress candidate and former minister D Sridhar Babu in Kudurpalli. M Rajasekhar, a youngster, along with a group of his friends had conducted a meeting in the village wherein it was decided that out of 590 voters in the village, at least 570 would cast their votes for the Congress. Babu was confident he would win with a huge margin.
Manthani Assembly constituency
Total number of voters according to the latest data (2018): 2,20,571
Male: 1,10,713, Female: 1,09,849, Others: 9
Voting percentage in 2014:81.02%
In 2014 elections, Putta Madhu (TRS), won with 84,037 votes
Major candidates in 2018 polls
TRS: Putta Madhu
People’s Front (Congress): Duddilla Sridhar Babu
BJP: Rendla Sanath Kumar