Congress, BJP nominees trying luck in Adilabad fighting four-time MLA Jogu Ramanna of BRS

MLA: Name Jogu Ramanna (Munnurukapu)

MP: Name: Soyam Bapurao ( Caste)

Reservation: GEN

Total Voters: 2,29,015

Rural Voters: 51%

Male: 51%

Female: 49%

Booths: 290

Urban Voters: 49%

Caste & Religious Demography:

• Gen + OBC: 72.10%
• SC: 12.40%
• ST: 15.6%
• Hindu: 76.6%
• Muslim: 19.5%
• Others: 5%

Assembly Constituency information:

Jogu Ramanna (BRS)

Four-time MLA from Adilabad Ramanna started his political career as Sarpanch for Deepaiguda village. He served as MPTC for Jainath and also ZPTC. He was elected an MLA in 2009 and eventually raised the banner of revolt on Telangana statehood against the TDP party president Chandrababu Naidu by aligning himself with Nagam Janardhan Reddy.

He joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on October 10, 2011 and in the 2014 Telangana Assembly election he was re-elected from Adilabad Assembly constituency. He was inducted into the State Cabinet on June 2, 2014, and became the Forest Environment and BC Welfare Minister of Telangana.

Kandi Srinivas Reddy (Cong)

The BJP in Adilabad received a setback when party senior leader Kandi Srinivas Reddy joined the Congress. Associated with the RSS, Srinivas Reddy entered direct politics with RSS connections. He joined the BJP two years ago. He hoped for the Adilabad ticket from the BJP but did not get proper assurance from the leadership. Congress, which is waiting for strong leadership in the Adilabad constituency, has consulted Srinivas Reddy. Revanth Reddy himself entered the field and saw to it that Reddy was nominated.

Payal Shankar (BJP)

A flamboyant leader of the BJP, he completed only SSC and joined politics. He contested from Adilabad Assembly constituency in 2014 and in 2018 and lost both times. With the BJP announcing that their CM candidate would be a BC, Payal Shankar hopes that the BC would support him in large numbers.

Geography: Adilabad,Jainad and Bela are the three mandals under this Assembly constituency. Located on the extreme northern part of Telangana very close to Maharashtra, Adilabad is famous for Singareni coal mines and scenic forests and ghats. Before the separate state of Telangana was formed, many people from Adilabad used to migrate to Maharashtra for work. Agriculture is the mainstay of this constituency.

Background: Adilabad is a General reserved constituency. From 1984 the TDP won three times, Congress won two times, the BRS won two times from this constituency. The Assembly constituency is politically and electorally dominated by OBCs. Reddys, Perikas form the cream of the influential Communities.

MLA Profile:

Personal Background: Jogu Ramanna was born on July 4, 1963 in Deepaigunda. He has two Children Premendar and Mahender. Premender is serving as Municipal Chairman of Adilabad.

Profession: Agriculture, Real Estate.

Political Background: Jogu Ramanna started his career as Sarpanch in his own village Deepaiguda. In 2009 he became MLA representing the TDP. In 2011 he quit the TDP and joined the TRS (now BRS) and in 2012 by-elections he won the Adilabad Assembly seat as the TRS candidate. In 2014 elections he contested from TRS and became Forest Environment & BC welfare minister in KCR’s cabinet. In 2018 also he won the seat for TRS.

Financial Strength: Partially Strong

2014 Analysis:

In the thick of Telangana sentiment he resigned from the TDP in 2011 and joined the TRS in 2012 and strived for the movement and consolidation of Munnuru Kapu votes. He was able to split OBC votes.The Congress candidate Deshpande who was considered weak compared to Ramanna was able to get Brahmin votes and traditional Congress votes. The BJP Candidate Payal Shankar was able to get a fair share of Reddy votes as C Ramchandra Reddy was not given ticket. Shanker was also able to attract the TDP votes and perika votes. But the reddy votes were split between the INC and the BJP.

2018 Analysis:

There was an Internal fight between C Ramachandra Reddy, Bhargav Dheshpande and Gandrath Sujatha for the Congress ticket. This caused a split of the Congress vote bank. Jogu Ramanna contested in elections as Minister in KCRs cabinet. Welfare schemes like Shaadi Mubarak, Kalyan Lakshmi and pensions helped him much. Because of Shaadi Mubarak, Muslims voted for him as they are the beneficiaries of this scheme. Munnurukapu votes are consolidated as he belonged to that community. The BJP candidate Payal Shanker was able to consolidate his 2014 votes due to his strong Influence in the constituency. The INC Candidate Sujatha also from Munnuru Kapu community split votes of Munnuru Kapu and Congress core vote bank.

Current Situation:

At present Ramanna is facing an anti-incumbency factor, due to the pendency in allocation of double bedrooms, three-acre land for Dalits and youth about jobs and the promises the BRS made during elections. Ramanna and his son are facing allegations in a criminal case. It was also alleged that Ramanna’s followers were involved in illegal activities. The BJP candidate Payal Shanker is very active on the ground and working hard on building his cadre.

Key Local Issues:

• Revival of defunct Adilabad cement Factory
• Railway over bridge
• Problems in RIMS Hospital such as scarcity of medical equipment and facilities
• Poor condition of roads