Veteran Congress leader Sudarshan Reddy trying to regain lost ground in Bodhan, stronghold of BRS

Assembly Constituency: Bodhan

District: Nizamabad

MLA: Shakil Aamir Mohammed (Muslim)

Total Voters: 2,07,926

Booths: 246

Urban Voters: 28.%

Rural Voters: 72%

Male: 48%

Female: 52%

Caste & religious demography:

• Gen + BC: 81.3%

• SC: 14.6%

• ST: 4.1%

• Hindu: 69.9%

• Muslim: 28.%

• Others: 2.1%

Candidates:

Mohammed Aamir Shakeel (BRS)

Mohammed Shakeel Amer was born on March 7, 1976, to Mohammad Azam and Shahgufta Adib in Acchampally village of Bodhan Mandal, Nizamabad District. He completed 10th standard from Madhumalancha High School, Bodhan in 1991. He earned did a Diploma in Journalism and completed a certificate course in Business Administration. He is married to Ayesha Fatima Amir. They have one son and three daughters.

Mohammed Shakeel Aamir started his political career with the TRS (now BRS) party. He contested on behalf of the BRS in the Telangana general elections held in 2014 and won with a margin of more than 14,000 votes over Congress party candidate Sudarshan Reddy. From May 2016 to September 6, 2018, he served as the chairperson of the Minorities Welfare Committee of Telangana Legislative Assembly. Mohammed Shakeel Aamir contested on the ticket of the BRS in the Telangana by-elections held in 2018 and won by a margin of more than 8,000 votes over Congress party candidate Sudarshan Reddy.

P Sudarshan Reddy (Congress)

Sudarshan Reddy is one of the senior leaders in the Congress party in the erstwhile Nizamabad district. He has been elected from Bodhan on a Congress ticket three times so far. He was Minister for Irrigation in YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s cabinet. However, he lost his grip on Bodhan and was defeated at the hands of the BRS candidate two times (2014, 2019). The Congress party, in an effort to revive its fortunes in Bodhan, has fielded the former Minister against a formidable BRS candidate.

Vaddi Mohan Reddy (BJP)

Vaddi Mohan Reddy who is the General Secretary of the All India Rice Millers Association quit the BRS and joined the BJP. Mohan Reddy played a key role in persuading the Central Government about rice procurement. Earlier, he represented as ZPTC from the TDP. He joined the BRS at a time when the Commercial Taxes department was investigating the fake challan scam of rice millers.

Assembly constituency information:

Geography: This Assembly has four mandals. Bodhan, Ranjal, Navipet and Yedapally. Navipet is a Muslim-dominated mandal. Major occupation is agriculture and the main industry used to be Nizam Sugar Factory

Background: This constituency comes under the swing voters segment, as we see from the past, they elected TDP three times, Congress five times, and the BRS two times. Bodhan constituency is politically dominated by Muslims. Muslims and Munnurukapus form the base of the electorate. Bodhan is mostly a semi-developed rural area.

MLA profile:

Political background: He is closely associated with K Chandrashekar Rao and actively participated in the Telangana movement. He consecutively won as MLA in Bodhan from the BRS.

Financial strength: Strong

Remarks:

• Interacts well with people
• He doesn't have healthy relations with AIMIM party leaders.
• Often gets into controversies.

Cultural / Historical / Religious Identifiers

Shivalayam in Bodhan town, Godavari triveni sangam in Kandakurthi

2014 Assembly analysis:

• Congress leader and Ex-Minister Podduturi Sudarshan Reddy never participated in the Telangana movement. He served as an MLA from 1999 till 2014 and there was some anti-incumbency that made him lose elections.

• He was able to consolidate Reddy and Munnuru Kapu votes. The Congress party’s core vote bank SCs voted for him.

• The BRS candidate was able to consolidate the Muslim votes and BC votes. In 2014, the BRS MP candidate Kalvakuntla Kavitha promised to solve the problems of Nizam Sugar Factory. She assured me to re-open the Nizam Sugar Factory within 100 days.

• These promises and the Telangana movement helped the BRS a lot to win the seat.

• The TDP candidate Prakash Reddy was able to garner the votes of settlers and ST votes.

2018 Assembly analysis:

• MD Shakeel Amir Ahmad is able to make the promises he has made, like providing sheep to Yadavas and pension, Dalit Bandhu to farmers, and double-bedroom flats to minorities.

• Before the 2018 election, the BRS released a draft manifesto stating that Bodhan Sugar Factory would be reopened. Farmers trusted this and voted for him.

• Sudharshan Reddy, a very well-known leader and mass leader, lost the elections only due to a major consolidation of Muslim votes in favour of the BRS.

• The BJP candidate got a lot of negativity that he is a non-local candidate.

Current situation:

• BJP needs to consider a homegrown candidate

• In the 2018 Assembly elections, BJP gave seats to nonlocal candidate

• Current MLA MD Shakeel Amir Ahmad is a strong contender and has Muslim's support

• Congress Leader P Sudarsan Reddy is doing aggressive work

Key local issues:

1. Navipet Railway Overbridge.

2. Incomplete Yencha water scheme

3. Navipet-Yerragunta reservoir.