PEDDAPALLI: It has been five months since the people of Telangana voted the BRS out of power and handed over the reins to the Congress. But the residents of Peddapalli Lok Sabha constituency, rather surprisingly, are still seething with anger against the pink party.
The reasons are many. The previous government’s failure to extend the benefits of Dalit Bandhu scheme to all the eligible beneficiaries, its alleged indifference towards the elderly who applied for pensions and the controversial Dharani portal, the Integrated Land Records Management System, are some of those.
“KCR’s government has cheated us. It launched the Dalit Bandhu amidst much fanfare. All of us, including myself, thought that the benefits would be extended to us. But only a few have benefited from the scheme,” says M Srinivas as a group of middle-aged people discuss the Lok Sabha elections at a barbershop in Peddakalvala on the outskirts of Peddapalli district headquarters.
His friend Mallesh has other reasons to not support the BRS “any longer”. “It is not just the non-implementation of welfare schemes. We have also suffered due to the Dharani portal. Since it was introduced, we were made to run from pillar to post to get the errors in our land records rectified,” he says.
A few yards away from the barbershop, sitting under a tree, a group of elderly people accuse the previous government of denying them pensions though it used to “boast a lot about the old-age pension scheme”.
“KCR promised to provide pension to people like us under the Aasara scheme. He announced his decision to reduce the eligibility age from 65 to 57. But when we applied for pensions, there was no response from the government. We don’t know why our applications were not considered,” says Venkatesh.
Political pedigree
This deep resentment coupled with the revival of Congress in the state, especially in the Peddappalli LS segment where it swept all the seven Assembly seats in the recent polls, is likely to work against BRS candidate Koppula Eshwar. This in turn augurs well for the Congress candidate Gaddam Vamsi Krishna.
Political observers believe that Vamsi Krishna’s political pedigree too will boost his electoral prospects. For the uninitiated, Vamsi is the grandson of former Union minister late G Venkataswamy ‘Kaka’, who represented the SC-reserved Peddappalli segment four times in Lok Sabha. Vamsi’s father
G Vivek and paternal uncle G Vinod Kumar are currently serving as Chennur and Bellampalli MLAs.
Considering these factors, Vamsi is likely to have an edge over not just Eshwar but also the BJP candidate Gomasa Srinivas. Initially, the BRS candidate campaigned vigorously. But recently, he has been maintaining a low profile.
His BJP counterpart is reportedly not receiving the right kind of support from his party colleagues and cadre. Though the BJP fielded Srinivas to attract the voters of his Nethakani community, some are not willing to support the party.
“I know, when we consider national issues, including national security, we have to vote for the BJP. But in Peddapalli, the BJP is not as strong as it is in other segments. So, I don’t want to waste my vote by supporting the BJP,” says Kistaiah, a coal worker.
Not a cakewalk
But this is not to say that Vamsi will have a cakewalk in this segment where 42 candidates entered the fray as a few voters are also angry with the Congress government in the state.
“For the last several days, we have been waiting to sell our paddy. The Congress government is neither purchasing the paddy nor finding another alternative to resolve the issue. It also made many promises, including payment of Rs 500 bonus per quintal of paddy. But it is yet to fulfil those promises,” says
Chandraiah, a farmer from Aggimalla village, adding that he will prefer to vote for the BRS.
All the three candidates, meanwhile, are optimistic of securing the seat. While Gomasa Srinivas is campaigning vigorously and also banking on Modi’s image, Vamsi is seeking votes by promising to take his family’s political legacy forward and also to bring industries to this Lok Sabha constituency.
But it remains to be seen if Vamsi succeeds in securing the Peddapalli segment, which the Congress secured nine times since 1962. The TDP won this seat thrice and the BRS twice.