Irrigation projects to help Satish Kumar Voditela continue his winning streak in Husnabad

Assembly Constituency: Husnabad

District: Siddipet

MLA: Satish Kumar Voditela

Total Voters: 2,30,903

Booths: 304

Urban Voters: 0.%

Rural Voters: 100%

Male: 50%

Female: 50%

Caste & Religious Demography:

• Gen + OBC: 73.5%

• SC: 21.1%

• ST: 5.4%

• Hindu: 96.4%

• Muslim: 2.6%

• Others: 1%

Candidates

Satish Kumar Voditela (BRS)

Voditela Satish Kumar was born on September 30, 1965 to V. Laxmikantha Rao in Singapoor village of Huzurabad, Karimnagar district. He completed his M.Tech from Kakatiya University. He started his political journey with the TRS (now BRS). From 1994 to 1999, he worked as sarpanch of Signapoor village of Huzurabad Mandal, Karimnagar district.

Ponnam Prabhakar (Congress)

Ponnam Prabhakar was born on May 8, 1967. He is the working president of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee. He was the youngest Member of Parliament who represented Karimnagar constituency between 2009-14. Ponnam Prabhakar has started his political journey as a student activist. He worked as general secretary of the State Youth Congress from 2002 to 2003 and then, worked as Pradesh Congress Committee media cell coordinator from 2002 to 2004. He was a member of various parliamentary committees. He was one of the active participants in the Telangana Movement.

Bomma Sriram Chakravarthy (BJP)

The disgruntled Congress leader from Asifabad joined the BJP on August 25, 2023. Sriram was unhappy since A Praveen Reddy rejoined the Congress. He is the son of former Congress MLA Bomma Venkateshwar. Sriram has started a whirlwind campaign across the constituency and is raising issues such as delay in the construction of 2BHK houses for the weaker sections.

Assembly constituency information:

Geography

Husnabad Assembly constituency consists of Husnabad, Chigurumamidi, Koheda, Saidapur, Bheemadevarpalle, Elkathurthi and Akkannapet mandals. It is one of 13 constituencies in Siddipet district. It is part of the Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency.

Background:

• In the last six major elections, the Congress won two times and the BRS won four times.
• The fight is between the Congress and the BRS
• This is a Reddy-dominated seat
• From 2009 to 2018 the sitting MLAs are all Reddies

MLA Profile:

Satish Kumar Voditela started his political journey with the BRS Party. From 1994 to 1999, he worked as sarpanch of Signapoor village of Huzurabad mandal, Karimnagar district.

From 2003 to 2009, he served as chairperson of the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society (PACS). He served as a member of the first Telangana Legislative Assembly of Husnabad constituency, Karimnagar district from the BRS in 2014.

In 2018, he was elected as a Member of the second Telangana Legislative Assembly from Husnabad, now in Siddipet district from the BRS.

Cultural

1. Venkateswara Swamy temple at Konaipalli

2. Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple, Bejjanki

3, Saidapur Sri Shivalingeshwara temple

2014 Assembly analysis:

• In 2014, the BRS was riding on the pro-Telangana sentiment which helped its candidate to win the seat.

• Apart from the BRS candidate, the choice of the Congress, the TDP and the CPI alliance was the major reason for Congress candidate Aligireddy Praveen Reddy’s defeat.

• Anti-incumbency generated due to long-pending issues such as scarcity of drinking water, the BRS governments' Mission Bhagiratha scheme attracted the rural voters towards the BRS.

• The BRS's promise of Gouravelli, Gandipelli reservoir project completion also attracted a major chunk of agrarian community towards the BRS.

2018 Assembly analysis:

• In addition to the BRS Government’s schemes, the lack of a strong leader from the opposition led to the tilt of voters towards the BRS.

• The Congress-TDP alliance gave the Husnabad ticket to CPI’s Chada Venkat Reddy instead of Aligireddy Praveen Reddy who was a strong leader from the Congress till then.

• A sulking Aligireddy Praveen Reddy did not work actively for the victory of the alliance, Chada Venkat Reddy lost the election.

• Government’s flagship programme Mission Bhagiratha attracted the rural voters towards the BRS.

• The completed Kaleshwaram project’s Siddipet wing helped the BRS in attracting rural votes

Current Situation:

• Incumbent MLA Satish Kumar Voditela and the BRS regime are facing severe anti-incumbency due to unfulfilled promises of the Gouravelli and Gandipelli project.

• The BRS is facing infighting at the mandal level with multiple factions. ZP chairman Marepalli Sudheer Kumar (Mala) and Bheemadevarapally ZPTC member Vanga Ravi (Goud) are a few close associates of the incumbent MLA.

• The Congress has a cadre base at the mandal level but lacks a strong leader in this Assembly constituency.

• In the recent Husnabad municipality election, the Congress secured seven wards out of 20 wards. Sriram Chakravarthy, son of ex-MLA the late Bomma Venkateshwar was in charge of this constituency. Now he joined the BJP from the Congress.

• Ponam Prabhakar is contesting from the constituency on the Congress ticket.

• Bolishetti Shivayya (Munnuru Kapu), the Husnabad single window chairman, and Husnabad ex-sarpanch Kedam Lingamurthy (Mala) are prominent Congress leaders in this constituency.

• The BJP secured three MPTCs out of 12 in Saidapur mandal, two MPTCs out of 13 in Koheda mandal, and one MPTC out of 13 in Chigurumamidi mandal in recent local elections. These mandals have access to Karimnagar.

• In recent municipal elections, the BJP won two wards in Husnabad municipality out of 20 wards. Chada Srinivas Reddy is one of the BJP faces in this constituency but the party has not yet reached village level.

• Srinivas Reddy has a considerable following among the youth and educated section in Husnabad.

• In 2019, CPI Karimnagar district secretary Komatireddy Ramgopal Reddy joined the BJP but his influence is limited to Koheda mandal only.

• Every agriculture-related business is handled through Mulkanoor Cooperative Bank, which is under the control of Congress leader Aligireddy Pravin Reddy. It had control over Bheemadevarapalli and Elkathurthy mandals. He had a personal vote bank in this constituency.

• To protect his position in this bank, he joined the BRS from the Congress after the 2018 elections.

Key Local Issues:

1. The Gouravelli and Gandipelli reservoir project has to be completed. It is one of the major irrigation sources of the semi-arid constituency.

2. Village connectivity roads

3. Upgradation of the 50-bed Bheemadevarapally mandal Hospital.

4. Lack of employment opportunities in Elkathurthy and Bheemadevarapally mandals