Lok Sabha elections: Daily wager, farmer to take on Konda Vishweshwar Reddy

HYDERABAD: Twenty-five-year-old Yedla Suresh earns a meagre Rs 200 a day as a daily wage labourer, but that hasn’t stopped him from taking on one of the richest politicians in the country Konda Vishweshwar Reddy of the Congress, who has declared assets of Rs 895 crore, in the upcoming electoral contest.


Son-in-law of C Pratap Reddy, founder-chariman of the Apollo group of Hospitals, Konda Vishweshwar Reddy has unlikely challengers in a housewife, a student and a farmer who are contesting as Independents from the Chevella constituency. BJP’s B Janardhan Reddy and Ranjit Reddy of TRS are also in contest.

“Lack of money won’t be an issue. I am a local and know the problems of people in my locality better,” said Suresh, who hails from Tandur. He said that the main problem bothering people in his locality is the levying of 18% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on Tandur stone, a natural resource in the area.

“Majority of our people are in loss because of the GST. If the tax on the stone is reduced to 5%, most of the youth working as labourers and earning a bare minimum will benefit. They will have a chance to run their own business,” said Suresh, who himself is working as an agricultural labourer and earning an annual income of ?75, 000.

Of the 28 candidates in contest, 11 are contesting as Independents who shared the same sentiment and felt they knew local issues better.

“The ruling party in the state is misleading people with false promises and advertisements. Their Rythu Bandhu scheme does very little for farmers like us. In fact, ?4,000 per acre being provided as assistance is used on liquor and food as it is not enough to do agriculture,” said Jaidupally Yadaiah, who hails from Vikarabad.

He said that he was not intimidated by the fact that Konda Vishweshwar Reddy or Janardhan Reddy were contesting from the same constituency. He felt he had a chance of winning the polls.

“Even without proper campaigning, I got substantial votes when I contested in the Assembly election. I will intensify my campaign and will fight for farmers’ rights along with jobs for youth and better pay for labourers,” said Yadaiah, adding that farmers need a fair price for their produce, but not few thousands in the name of assistance.

The candidates contesting from Chevalla constituency, which comprises seven assembly constituencies—Tandur, Parigi, Vikarabad, Chevella, Maheshwaram, Rajendra Nagar and Serilingampally — said that with basic infrastructure, ever-increasing school fees is also a major issue.

“Parents are forced to pay lakhs in fees for their children studying in kindergarten and politicians are least bothered to address the issue. Same is the case with old and differently-abled people who are not given pension as they don’t have a certificate to prove their case,” said Bennala Julee, a home-maker contesting from Chevella.

A resident of Serilingampally, Julee said that she will fight for rights of women, children, the elderly and differently-abled people.

Chevella presents a unique mix of urban-rural electorate. While it has highly developed and urbanised areas in Serilingampally -- IT corridor, pharma companies, Shamshabad International Airport; on the other, it has backward areas such as Tandur, Vikarabad, and Parigi.