Marwaris in Malkajgiri inclined to BJP: Sources

Revanth Reddy was elected in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, months after losing in the 2018 Assembly polls. While Revanth won with 38.63% of votes, Marri Rajashekhar Reddy of the BRS stood a close second with 37.93% while the BJP candidate was a distant third with 19.47%.

This time, the Congress candidate is Suneetha Reddy. She is Ranga Reddy Zilla Parishad chairperson and wife of former minister P Mahender Reddy. The BRS candidate, Ragidi Laxma Reddy, who quit the Congress last year after he was denied an Assembly ticket, was a close aide of Revanth and worked for him when he contested from Malkajgiri in 2019.

When asked about their preference, voters who favoured the BJP mostly had only two responses: “I want to vote for Modi” or “I know Eatala but I’m not very familiar with the other two candidates.” Political analysts also point out that while Suneetha Reddy is known in political circles, she is relatively new to the voters.

As for Laxma Reddy, Rasoolpura resident Rahim said: “I heard he was the assembly in-charge in Uppal. But I saw him only during an iftar party recently, when KTR introduced him to us. He did not hold a rally or a meeting with us after that.”

Laxma Reddy, a native of Hyderabad, has repeatedly stressed in his election campaigns that the BJP and Congress candidates are non-locals and that the people would support a local leader like him. (Eatala is from erstwhile Karimnagar district and Suneetha is from Tandur of Vikarabad district.)

However, political analysts say this is not a major issue. In the 2019 elections, though the BRS and BJP fielded local candidates, people voted for Revanth, who hails from erstwhile Mahbubnagar district.

There is a significant presence of migrant settlers from Tamil Nadu and other states in Malkajgiri. “In the previous elections, the BRS made a lot of promises in favour of the Tamil community but they did not follow through. So, most of our community members are looking to vote for the Congress or the BJP,” said Rajkumar, a settler from Tamil Nadu. “Some of the Tamils in the constituency say they would vote for the BJP as Modi recently extended his support to the Tamil language,” he added.

Political sources say the Marwaris in the constituency are inclined towards the BJP. There are also a lot of people who migrated from districts within the state, mostly from north Telangana. So, all parties are crafting strategies to get the votes of settlers.

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