Pink party quick off the mark in Cantonment

The poll fever has gripped this constituency, with all the main parties focusing on the constituency and kicking off vigorous campaigning. While the TRS has re-nominated G Sayanna, the Congress, the TDP and the BJP are yet to select its nominees. The aspirants include Manne Krishank (Cong), PCC secretary Ganesh (Cong), Muppidi Madhukar, M N Srinivas (TDP), and Jaiprakash (BJP), who is a former Cantonment Board member.

In the 14 elections held here so far, the Congress and the Congress-I combine won seven times, Janata Party once and Telugu Desam six times. As much as 90 per cent of the voters reside in the Cantonment Board limits, and the remaining come under the GHMC area.  There are eight wards in the board limits, the Monda Market division falls under GHMC. There are 191,808 voters in the eight wards and about 20,000 in Monda market. 

Hence the board and its eight members representing eight wards have a crucial role to play in the election. Of the eight members, seven belong to the ruling TRS and the other Congress Party. The removal of 28,123 voters from the list of the board following orders of the Supreme Court in the case of those living illegally in occupied places belonging to the Central government in Ward 8 has become a crucial issue. If the voters continue to stay there they would lose the right to vote. However, since this rule is not applicable to the Assembly and LS polls, the outgoing MLA Sayanna and Malkajgiri MP Ch Malla Reddy, who have been worried, are heaving a huge sigh of relief.

In the 2014 polls, Sayanna, who originally belonged to TDP, emerged victorious for the fourth time since 1994, after losing in 2009. He won in 2014 over Gajjala Kantham (Cong) securing 22,136 votes.  The other winners from the constituency included senior Congress leader Dr Shankar Rao, who had emerged victorious four times from Shadnagar (Mahbubnagar district). Although he was successful in 2009, Dr Rao was not given the Congress ticket in 2014. While B V Gurumurthy won this seat twice, and was successful once in Khairatabad, S M Krishna, D Narsing Rao (who became ministers), were winners once each. 

The Army, which has imposed night time restrictions, banning movement of vehicles on its roads in the board limits has evoked strong resentment among residents of the surrounding colonies. Various sections of people, political parties and associations have launched agitations against the Army.  Voters of Malkajgiri and Uppal constituencies, who experience hardship because of the closure of the Safilguda Railway Crossing road, are getting ready to join the agitations, which are likely turn serious. Even the board members are exerting pressure on the Army officials to relent.

BY K B Ramesh