Cong, BJP locked in tough tussle in Malkajgiri, parties eye Tamil votes

Hyderabad : As part of the strategy to win the upcoming general election, various political parties and their cadres of Malkajgiri parliamentary constituency have set their eyes on several communities. One among them is the Tamil community, which has a sizeable vote bank in this constituency and the leaders are making all out efforts to woo the voters.

As per data from GHMC, in Malkajgiri parliamentary constituency there are a total of 31,83,325 voters, including 17,23,413 male and 14,59,912 female voters. Out of which Tamil voters are 2 per cent, or around 65,000 as per the 2011 Census. Currently, there might be nearly 95,000 Tamil voters in the constituency.

The Tamil-speaking voters are spread across Jawaharnagar, Yapral, Trimulgherry, Lothkunta, RK Puram, Ammuguda, Venkatapuram, Karkhana, Kakaguda, Lal Bazaar, Mudfort, Moula Ali, Bowenpally and Uppal. Traditionally, Tamils in the city had been voting for the Congress, but in the 2019 general elections, they seem to have shifted loyalties and the majority of the community voted for Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and other parties. But this election, the scenario may be different, as the community feels that they have been neglected and their long-pending demands have not been fulfilled.

On the condition of anonymity, a few local leaders stated that the upcoming election will witness a tough battle between Congress and BJP. Already, all political parties have begun their election campaign targeting various communities, especially the Tamil community, as it plays a vital role in electing leaders.

As per the observers, to woo the voters, MP candidates from Congress, BJP and BRS were seen organising various meetings with the community leaders and urging for their support. Recently, BJP candidate Eatala Rajender along with Union Minister and BJP state president G Kishan Reddy have approached the members of the Tamil community seeking their support. Meanwhile, Congress Malkajgiri Lok Sabha candidate Patnam Sunitha Mahender Reddy is also eyeing support from the community.

MK Bose, president of Telangana Tamil Sangam, said, "Our community has been neglected by all political parties. For our long-pending demand seeking land for constructing Tamil Bhavan, we have approached the leaders many times but our requests fell on deaf ears. Apart from this, our community’s interests have not been considered under various Central government welfare schemes. This time, we have planned to support candidates who fulfill our promises.”

Raj Kumar, secretary, Telangana Tamil Sangam, said, “The community has contributed to the development of Secunderabad, be it in establishing libraries, temples, etc. But I feel that this time we need a strong leader who can work for the development of the constituency and also support our community.”