VIJAYAWADA: The contest for the Vijayawada West constituency is going to be a litmus test for sitting MLA Jaleel Khan who shifted loyalties to the TDP after winning on YSRC ticket in 2014. The party has now fielded his daughter, an IT professional, from the seat.
Jaleel Khan won twice from the constituency, once on Indian National Congress (INC) ticket in 1999 and, in 2014, on YSRC’s. In the last polls, he won by a narrow margin of 3,108 votes against Vellampalli Srinivas who contested as a candidate from the TDP-BJP alliance. However, his joining the TDP has drawn sharp criticism from the Muslim community, who backed him in the 2014 elections.
Though he continues as an MLA from the ruling TDP, majority of the people in his constituency are of the opinion that Jaleel Khan has failed to address their long-pending issues--especially the Kanaka Durga flyover completion, Shaik Raja Maternity Centre upgradation, badly managed traffic, pothole-ridden and narrow roads, frequent flooding of roads during monsoon and poor waste management.
All these issues are being used as weapons by the YSRC candidate Vellampalli Srinivas, who has been extensively campaigning as he aspires to become the legislator once again from the constituency. Meanwhile, a group of people from the Muslim community headed by MS Baig took to the streets opposing the party’s decision to field Vellampalli from the West constituency.
A few Muslim associations even backed Baig, son of former legislator MK Baig, to ‘teach’ the YSRC a lesson in the coming election. Apart from the TDP, Vellampalli is also facing the heat from Pothina Venkata Mahesh (Jana Sena), Piyush P Desai (BJP) and an independent, Korada Vijaya Kumar.
“This part of the city generates a large business in spite of the bad conditions. The government is busy developing Vijayawada as a world-class city. Then why is it ignoring the heart of the city that generates so much taxes,” asked I Sai Babu, a trader at Vastralatha, One Town.
Underscoring the need for alternative politics, he said this time the business fraternity would “show them the cost of ignoring those who have worked in the city for years.” Irrespective of this, Shabana Khatoon, daughter of Jaleel Khan, is banking on the development activities carried out by her father for her campaign. “I will strive to implement all welfare schemes for all sections of the society,” Khatoon said confidently, after filing her nomination on Monday.