Jubilee Hills voters yearn for solutions to long-standing woes

Hyderabad: The upscale Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency is abuzz with political activity as the countdown begins for the by-election scheduled on November 11. The election has become an opportunity for residents to express their dissatisfaction and discuss their grievances with the candidates seeking their votes.

The segment includes one of the posh areas and also slums. To grab the seat the star campaigners, including Congress party ministers, BRS working president and BJP Union Ministers were seen supporting their contenders.

During the corner meetings as a part of canvassing, the people here gathered with the contenders – Naveen Yadav (Congress), Sunita Gopinath (BRS) and Deepak Reddy (BJP) and were discussing the underdevelopment in the segment when they came to seek votes. The voters here listed out various pending works and stated that being in posh Jubilee Hills, several areas remain underdeveloped.

Interacting with Naveen Yadav, the residents of Erragadda said, “The areas which were a decade back are still the same with no proper roads, scarcity of water, sewage overflow, inundation of water during rains and lack of infra development. Whereas, the areas outside the slums in the segment are well developed,” said Syed Mujeeb, a resident of Erragadda.

However, many residents now express mixed opinions about the current political atmosphere. “Naveen is a good person and a local, but residents are uneasy with the Congress party’s approach to development,” said Satish Kumar, a resident at Borabanda.

BRS candidate Maganti Sunitha has been canvassing at Krishna Nagar, Yousufguda and as well as areas in Borabanda. Congress candidate Naveen participated in door-to-door campaigns in Madhura Nagar, Siddharth Nagar, Habeeb Fathima Nagar, Erragadda, and Vengalrao Nagar and are seeking votes.

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy campaigned door-to-door in Rahmathnagar, Om Nagar, Brahma Shankar Nagar and NSB Nagar, urging voters to support BJP candidate Deepak. The Congress has deployed prominent Muslim leaders, including cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin, government advisor Mohammad Shabbir Ali and several leaders, campaigning door-to-door in Muslim-dominated areas. The top leaders of BRS, including KT Rama Rao, Shaik Sohail, ex-chairman Mohammed Saleem on field for canvassing.

Moreover, the AIMIM’s decision to back the Congress instead of fielding its own candidate is being a potential game changer. Asad Owaisi appealed to Jubilee Hills voters to support Congress nominee Naveen describing him as a young and capable leader, who could bring change to the constituency and accused BRS of holding the seat for a decade without any development.

Shaik Moin, a resident of Shaikpet, said: “In previous elections, AIMIM was against the Congress and called the calling ‘RSS Anna’ & ‘RSS Tillu’, however, now, the party is not contesting and backing the Congress. When Congress and Majlis reconcile, Muslims voters are getting crushed,” felt Moin.

Another resident said “The Muslim graveyard issue has been pending for years. Although the government promised action and accepted the disputed land, no progress is visible,” said Majid Ali.

Meanwhile, ahead of the by-election, the Jubilee Hills Constituency Colonies Forum, representing more than 300 colonies is set to play a decisive role in the forthcoming bye-election. The forum plans to convene a meeting of all Colony Associations and Basti Welfare Committees to arrive at a collective decision on whom to support, based purely on the performance and integrity of a particular candidate or a party.

On Monday, the forum recalled that it had played a crucial role in the 2023 Assembly elections, emerging as a major winning factor for Maganti Gopinath through its coordinated residents’ outreach and issue-based campaigns across all colonies.

Mohammed Asif Hussain Sohail, President of the Jubilee Hills Constituency Colonies Forum, said: “There will be collective decisions taken by the colonies and residents after detailed discussions.

From slums to posh localities, we connect people to raise awareness on social, community, and civic issues. Our goal is to bring all residents together, regardless of background, for the welfare and development of the community.”