Bullet to Ballot: In Telangana's Mulugu Seat, the Contest is Between Two Women, Both Former Naxals

Two hundred kilometres from the hi-tech city of Hyderabad is a remote Assembly constituency that is witnessing a spirited electoral campaign, one that can be aptly called a bullet-to-ballot fight. The electoral battle in Telangana‘s Mulugu seat is between two candidates who have a Naxalite background.

Meet Dansari Anasuya, popularly called ‘Seethakka’, the sitting Congress MLA from Mulugu. She is contesting from this seat for the third time and hopes to win it as well. Her direct opponent is BRS candidate Bade Nagajyothi, a ZPTC vice-chairperson and the daughter of a former Maoist leader.

Before taking the political plunge, Seethakka worked with Maoists in the region, but later found her calling in mainstream politics. She was recognised for her work and was even made a star campaigner by the Congress during the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in the tribal areas of the region. Asked how she views the fight, Seethakka says that the Congress will win the election easily.

“It looks like KCR does not like the fact that I am raising my voice again and again against the atrocities on people, the lack of development. He is irritated by me, I think. The competition in this seat is not against KCR, but his entire family, and their benami candidates are against me here. They are spending a lot of money. The only crisis here is that the BRS is spending crores of rupees, and I am an adivasi lady,” Seethakka tells News18.

In this Scheduled Tribe-reserved constituency of Mulugu, there are 112,277 women voters. They outnumber the 108,588-strong male electorate. Seethakka registers a quiet response from women, especially as they gather to watch her during her campaign visits to villages in the area, particularly during her door-to-door outreach.

As she speaks of the benefits of the six guarantees announced by the Congress for Telangana and assures that they will reach every household in the segment, she also claims that she has to fight for every inch of development in her seat as the ruling BRS has not provided adequate facilities.

“Isn’t it the job of the government to give jobs, give homes? In the name of the CM, they created Pragati Bhavan for Rs 500 crore; they are living a luxurious life, but we are fighting here. I am from the opposition, and I am fighting alone. The BRS has their leaders elected even at the panchayat level, yet they have not been able to deliver their government promises. The CM has not even shown his face here,” she says.

From the ruling BRS, the Mulugu ticket has been given to Nagajyothi following the sudden death of ZPTC chairman Kusuma Jagadish. She is accompanied in her election by leaders who have the strong backing of BRS supremo K Chandrasekhara Rao, including Pochampally Srinivas Reddy.

There are a host of chronic issues that have been plaguing Mulugu and surrounding tribal areas, which include undeveloped roads, lack of connectivity, flooding, and unemployment. The previous rains brought life to a virtual standstill in this region. However, Nagajyothi claims that the welfare schemes have been extremely successful and are well-implemented by the BRS government.

When asked about how one former Naxalite is taking on another, Nagajyothi replies: “I belong to a family that was formerly with Maoists. I am with the BRS, and we will win this election. There are roads, development, and KCR has done a lot of work for the Adivasis. He has always supported them. We have given women benefits through the Kalyan Lakshmi scheme; we have provided for a women’s hospital; we have set up chilly food processing units among women, which has given them employment as well. In our manifesto, we are giving women Rs 3,500 as part of the Bhagyalakshmi scheme, and now for the women, we will bring in more food processing zones as well as IT companies.”

Voters in Mulugu are hoping for change. They seek development, housing, and better facilities. They live in the hope that whoever comes to power would work towards the upliftment of these tribal areas and not just concentrate on the cities.

Take, for instance, Radhika, a tea seller who lives in Mulugu. She has been seeking the much-awaited 2BHK housing scheme promised by the KCR government.

“We neither have a house nor anything to our name. KCR said that he will give us a house, but that has just remained a promise. In my village, everybody applied; I did not get it. I did not get a loan which I am entitled to as per the government’s promise. My husband remains unemployed; that’s our situation,” she tells News18.

“We need homes to stay; we need jobs. Some have homes, many do not. We seek title deeds for our lands. We face a lot of problems. We have a water shortage, and it’s difficult to make ends meet,” says Parvathi, who along with her husband, tills their two-acre land.

Ten kilometres away, the village of Malamma readies for a massive roadshow of the BRS. Women gathered there dance to the promotional songs made specifically to highlight the achievements of the ruling party.

Sharmila, a homemaker, supports the BRS and is happy with the government’s schemes.

“KCR has given us a pension; they have given us rice and farmer’s pension. The BRS government has also given our children good education. He will come back to power,” says the Mulugu resident.

Her friend Jyoti adds: “The BRS government has waived off crop loans for 50 percent of the people. We request that it be extended to all. Please waive off the loans for all of us and give jobs to one member in each family.”