Battle of legacy in Mulugu between BRS, Congress, BJP

District: Siddipet

MLA: Anasuya Dansari (Seethakka)

Reservation: ST

Total Voters: 2,12,068

Booths: 304

Urban Voters: 4%

Rural Voters: 96%

Male: 49.64%

Female: 50.36%

Caste & Religious Demography

Gen + BC: 54.90%

SC: 14.40%

ST: 30.70%

Hindu: 95%

Muslim: 4.00%

Others : 1.00%

MLA Profile

Bade Nagajyothi (BRS)

Nagajyothi is a 29-year-old post-graduate who holds a B. Ed degree. She is the daughter of late Bade Nageshwara Rao alias Prabhakar, a Maoist leader, and late Rajeshwari alias Nirmalakka. She hails from Kalvapalli village in Tadavi mandal of the tribal belt Mulugu district.

Nagajyothi entered into politics by winning as an independent sarpanch of her native Kalvapally in 2019 and then won as a ZPTC member of Tadvai on behalf of the TRS (now BRS) and went on to become the ZP vice-chairperson. She was handpicked by the BRS top leadership for the Mulugu Assembly seat.

Danasari Anasuya Seethakka (Congress)

Personal Background : She was born on July 9, 1971. When she was 14-years-old, she joined the Naxalite movement and actively participated in the movement for 10 years, She later left the movement and pursued MA, LLB. During this time, her husband was killed in a police encounter. Her son Surya is active in politics. She also practiced as an Advocate in Warangal.

Political Background: She started her political career with the TDP and contested from the constituency in 2004 but lost. She won from here for the first time in 2009. In 2017, she joined the Congress and contested the 2018 elections and won. She was made the general secretary of All India Mahila Congress in 2018 and in 2019 became State incharge of Chhattisgarh Mahila Congress.

• She is very close to Chandrababu Naidu.
• Revanth Reddy is projecting her as a tribal face in Telangana.
• Very articulative and accessible to the people.

Prahlad Naik (BJP)

Azmeera Prahlad Naik is the son of former BRS Minister Azmeera Chandulal. Prahlad, belonging to the Lambada community, had served as Mulugu Agricultural Market Committee chairman in the past. He joined the BJP in September after he was not given a ticket by the BRS. His father had died in 2021.

Constituency information

Geography: Mulugu is a rural constituency. Ramappa Temple (UNESCO World Heritage Site) and Sammakka Saralamma temple are part of this constituency. Earlier it was a hotbed for Naxal movement in Telangana. 7 mandals are part of this constituency: Venkatapur, Eturnagaram, Mangapet, Tadvai, Kothaguda, Govindaraopet and Mulug mandals.

Background: Earlier the TDP was very strong in this constituency and its main contender was the Congress. Since 2010, the BRS was able to gain ground because of the Telangana movement. It poached Azmeera Chandulal (ex-MLA from TDP) who won in 2014. In the seven elections prior to that, the Congress won thrice and the TDP four times. Large chunk of the tribal population reside in this constituency.

Cultural / Historical / Religious Identifiers

• Ramappa Temple(UNESCO World Heritage Site)
• Ramappa Lake
• Eturnagaram national park
• Laknavaram lake
• Sammakka Saralamma Temple (Koya tribe)

2014 Election Analysis

Podem Veeraiah (Koya) from the Congress and Dansari Anasuya (Koya) from the TDP were able to split the community votes. Both of them ideated the Leftist ideology which split the votes. It helped the BRS candidate Ajmeera Chandulal (Lambadi) consolidate his community votes.

With the revival of Kamalapur's Ballarpur Industries Limited (BILT), its direct and indirect beneficiaries helped the BRS win the seat. The company which produces rayon/paper-grade wood pulp, is the only major industry here providing direct employment to about 2,000 and indirect employment to 10,000 people. Anti-incumbency of then TDP MLA Dansari Anasuya due to the anti-Telangana image of the TDP also became an advantage to the BRS.

2018 Election Analysis

Anti-incumbency against BRS MLA and Cabinet Minister Ajmeera Chandulal along with corruption allegations against his son Ajmeera Prahlad, was a huge minus for the BRS.

Dansari Anasuya joined the Congress in 2017 and was able to coordinate with Podem Veeraiah to consolidate the Koya votes along with her TDP vote bank. Podem Veeraiah shifted his candidature to the neighbouring Bhadrachalam constituency and with help from Dansari Anasuya, they both won from the constituency.

Key Local Issues

• No road connectivity to tribal hamlets.
• Constituency lacks proper education and healthcare facilities.
• Podu land issue.
• As per the reorganisation Act, the State Government had given 116 acres of assigned land, 50 acres of forest land, and 169 acres of Government land for the Tribal University which is scheduled to be built.
• In the rainy season, River Godavari flood affects the villages in Kannaigudem, Eturunagaram, and Mangapet mandals. Locals are demanding the construction of a karakatta (flood bank) in affected villages to prevent flooding.