HYDERABAD: There is a leadership vacuum in Gadwal BJP after party vice-president DK Aruna has shown her disinterest in contesting the Assembly election from that constituency. Though BRS has renominated sitting MLA Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy and Congress has announced Gadwal ZP chairperson Saritha as its candidate, BJP is yet to name its candidate.
As per sources, the BJP has been pushing for a BC candidate in the constituency, which has mostly been under the control of Reddys, more specifically under one family’s authority all these years, except for once, when former TDP MLA Gattu Bheemudu had defeated DK Aruna in 1999 Assembly elections. The Boya Valmikis constitute around 30 per cent of the electorate in Gadwal, and in view of their demand for inclusion of their caste in the ST list, their support becomes significant in the coming elections. Both BRS and BJP have been assuring the community that their demand would be fulfilled.
Cotton seed cultivation and seed production is a very big business in Gadwal, and most of the seed companies are owned by Reddys, who enjoy considerable political influence in the region. According to locals, one family has done a lot of groundwork over the decades, ensuring that the people from Reddy community, including their family members, were placed in prominent positions in various political parties, to control the power within the family irrespective of which party won from there.
Congress declaring Saritha, a BC candidate from the constituency may have been a calculated move to attract the BC voters, but if BJP fields a BC candidate, sources within the saffron party feel that it will actually help Krishna Mohan Reddy in winning the election due to the splitting of votes between the two parties. Another issue is that a strong leadership in BJP has not emerged in the Gadwal constituency over the years, and except for the same old faces, there are no new ones in BJP to project as MLA candidates.