Congress candidate D K Aruna will get a tough fight from TRS and BJP-TDP alliance in Gadwal

Gadwal: As Gadwal readies for poll day, Congress and TRS candidates are breathing down each other’s necks while the BJP-TD alliance is rallying up support for the Centre using its development model.
The general consensus is that the TRS will not make it easy for two-time winning Congress candidate, D.K. Aruna, this time.

In 2009, TRS candidate Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, who had contested under the TD banner in Gadwal, had narrowly missed beating Ms Aruna.

“I was contesting for the first time and couldn’t garner enough support,” said Mr Reddy, who is also a relative of Ms Aruna. Gadwal is known for the political melodrama in the Reddy family.

Being one of the most backward constituencies under Mahbubnagar district, Gadwal is plagued by sanitation, infrastructure and irrigation issues. Despite having two big rivers, Krishna and Tungabhadra, the area faces severe shortage of drinking water and water for irrigational purposes.

While several residents said that Ms Aruna had brought in the Jurala water reservoir project, many still complain about its current benefits

“Yes, the reservoir has helped, but too less has been done in the last 10 years,” complained a candidate.

TRS candidate Mr Reddy said, “If I win and TRS comes to power in the state, we will change Gadwal and the water problems will be solved.”

He added that the ruling Congress had only focused on Gadwal town and neglected the rural areas.

When asked about their strategy in Gadwal, Mr Reddy said that the electorate doesn’t vote for the party but for the candidate who will help them prosper.

“This time amma (Aruna) will not have an easy win, TRS and Congress are headed for a collision,” said K. Krishna, a resident.

While Mr Reddy rides on the 2009 polls’ outcome and TRS support in Telangana, the ruling Congress had an entirely different take on the water issue. Ms Aruna and her supporters are extremely confident that people are going to vote for Congress on the basis of the work she has done in the constituency.

“Several candidates promised to solve the water issue in the past but what did they achieve? Even Mr Chandrababu Naidu had promised to bring in lift irrigation plans but he neglected the villages after he won,” Ms Aruna said.

“Our party brought in the project and we also have expansion plans,” she added.

She also referred to the 2009-flood as her poll plank, saying “You can ask the villagers who stood by them during the floods. Who helped them rehabilitate?” In her rallies too, she pointed out that the Congress gave Telangana, not TRS.

Interestingly, the BJP-TD alliance is of the opinion that Gadwal has always remained neglected. “We have been hearing about Jurala project and its plans for so long but what is its coverage area?” asked K.L. Keshav Reddy, the BJP-candidate from Gadwal, a first-timer.

Though Gadwal is unhappy about the Reddy family feud, it would not be a cake-walk for BJP admitted Mr Keshav Reddy as “people vote for the candidate, not the party,” he said. Still, he is keeping his fingers crossed for a change this time riding on Modi-wave.

“I want to vote for the BJP at the centre and TD here, as this combination will see Gadwal develop and there will be no hindrance in getting funds for Gadwal,” said K. Saibaba, a resident.