Akeen tussle is likely in Vijayawada West Assembly constituency where BJP’s Yalamanchili Satyanarayana Chowdary, popularly known as Sujana Chowdary, is set to face YSRC’s Shaik Asif. In an interview with Phanindra Papasani Sujana Chowdary, a former Rajya Sabha MP and former Union minister, speaks about his plan to develop the constituency and how he is embracing a new chapter in life. Despite this being his electoral debut, the 62-year-old businessman-turned-politician is confident of victory.
You have been in politics for over a decade, but this is your electoral debut. How has the public response been?
I have been in the field of business for around three decades and have seen many ups and downs in my journey to make Sujana Industries one of the top companies. I retired from business and joined TDP as party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu’s ideology to develop the State attracted me. In 2010, I was nominated as Rajya Sabha MP and was given a spot in the Union cabinet. Now, I want to challenge myself by contesting for the Assembly seat. It might appear that I am going from the top to bottom in politics, but I feel grateful for getting an opportunity to serve the public directly. This is the phase of my political career where I am starting afresh. The people of West constituency are very welcoming. During my campaigns, I have observed that people, especially the poor, have great hopes on NDA as they believe it would bring significant change in their lives.
For the past two weeks, you have been electioneering in the constituency and meeting ground level workers and leaders of TDP and JSP. What are the key issues in the segment?
Vijayawada West is still lacking basic facilities such as drainage system, approach roads for people residing in the hillocks and social infrastructure. I was shocked to observe that there has been no significant development in the constituency for the past three decades. Although a few legislators won the seat twice consecutively, they failed to develop the constituency on par with other segments in the city. The region has one of the busiest railway stations in the country and is the business capital of the State. If NDA is voted to power, I will develop the constituency by uplifting it with funds from the Centre.
TDP won the Vijayawada West Assembly seat only once in 1983. You are contesting from the segment as part of the tripartite alliance. How confident are you about your victory, considering none of the alliance partners have had a stronghold in the region?
If we closely observe the results of previous elections, the winners have secured victory with a small margin. In 2009, Praja Rajyam Party’s Velampalli Srinivasa Rao won against Congress leader Mallika Begum with a margin of 8,000 votes. Jaleel Khan from YSRC got just 3,108 more votes against his opponent Velampalli Srinivasa Rao, who contested the elections on a BJP ticket and was supported by TDP and JSP. Similarly, Velampalli won in 2019 elections on a YSRC ticket with a margin of around 7,000 votes. So, winning West constituency on BJP ticket needs a little effort.
You have spoken about transforming the constituency, if voted to power. How do you plan on doing that?
I am assuring the people of Vijayawada West that all the areas in the constituency will be developed under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat which focuses on achieving unprecedented growth and prosperity. I have been in politics for more than 14 years and have good contacts in the Central government. This will be an advantage for me to bring more companies and develop the West constituency under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.