Kompella Madhavi Latha: BJP’s choice to take on Asaduddin Owaisi in Hyderabad
The feisty BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) contestant of the prestigious Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency Kompella Madhavi Latha is now fondly being called Durga and Bhagyalakshmi of Hyderabad, and ‘Lady Singham’ as well. The firebrand politician who is new to politics has shifted gears effortlessly and has taken to campaigning like fish to water. Her previous work as a philanthropist with her Lathamma and Lopamudra Trusts, working as chairperson of the prestigious Virinchi Hospitals, and her fine oratory skills have prepared her excellently for the job at hand. Her unconventional approach to campaigning with her extempore quick repartees, her equal felicity in three languages Telugu, Hyderabadi Hindi, and English, more importantly, her grip on the political and developmental issues of the city, have caught the imagination of not only the city and state, but also the nation. Her one-to-one interviews on many national channels and news agencies have become viral with each garnering not less than a million views.
Relatively young at about 50 years, Madhavi Latha has the advantage of being born and brought up in the old city area, had faced struggles of underdevelopment, poor infrastructure, and poor hygiene, and hence is able to talk insightfully on various civic issues plaguing the Hyderabad constituency. Though she is personally well-off having declared properties worth more than Rs.200 crores, she has not outsourced her campaign to Social Media handles only, and has been on the field among the people 24×7 campaigning vigorously in the rough and tumble of electoral politics. This fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude made her move around different polling booths in the vast constituency covering 7 Assembly segments, on Election Day 13th May 2024, and exposed the lackadaisical attitude of polling officials and staff in not checking the women who come in full burkhas. Many underage girls in burkhas have voted in many places, with just 1-2 being caught. Cases were filed against her when women polling staff didn’t comply with her request of checking burkha-clad women, and she herself checked a few women! Clearly, the official machinery is not used to the go-getter attitude of the new India which expects officials to follow the clearly laid down rules.
The Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency has an overwhelming 65% of the majority Muslim population and has been voting AIMIM (All India Majlis Ittehadul Musalmeen) for the last 40 years, Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi from 1984 and later his son Asaduddin Owaisi from 2004 onwards. Hyderabad seat has become synonymous with the Owaisis. The seven assembly segments of Malakpet, Ghosha Mahal, Karwan, Charminar, Chandrayana Gutta, Yakutpura, and Bahadurpura have a majority Muslim population and only BJP MLA T Raja Singh in Ghosha Mahal was successful in breaking through this stranglehold consistently in several elections. It may be noted here that the dreaded Jihadi Razakar Khasim Razvi handed over the reins of the MIM to Owaisi’s grandfather Abdul Wahid Owaisi in 1958, when he was allowed a safe passage to Pakistan by the then PM Nehru, after serving a meager seven years in prison. His son Salahuddin Owaisi called salaar-e-millat (commander of the community) took over the party in 1975, and later on it was led by Asaduddin Owaisi. His brother MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi is famous for his hate speeches and vile abuse against Hindus, Hindu Gods, and Goddesses, he has successfully escaped scot-free in all his cases, for ‘lack of evidence’ even though all the abuse and hate rants are on record. Over the decades thousands and lakhs of Hindus left the old city, away from the suffocating atmosphere. This has helped Muslim consolidation and ghettoization even further. It has been reported several times that officials don’t go to the narrow bylanes of the old city to collect water or electricity dues. It may be recalled that the then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister NT Rama Rao in the 1980s tried to revive the Quli Qutb Shah Development Authority for progress and growth in the old city, even in those days there was resistance against the move. NTR became famous for managing to control the cycle of routine communal riots and curfews in the city. Later MIM always managed to develop an alliance or informal understanding with whichever party came to power in the state, with all parties protecting their respective turfs with no interference from the other side.
Despite the stranglehold of the MIM in this constituency, and irrespective of the results, Madhavi Latha has proved many points to many people. It has only taken a few weeks of strong campaigning for a complete novice to raise question marks on the Owaisis. The announcement of her candidature has taken everyone by surprise, as she was not in politics. Her family is firmly in the background only, they are never seen in public. Seasoned observers felt that her candidature would amount to forfeiting the seat, that it is just tokenism if a Hindu woman new to politics takes on the might of Owaisis in a Muslim bastion that is known for its overt radicalization and a ghettoized mob culture. Madhavi Latha not only challenged these Muslim patriarchal structures, but she also fearlessly campaigned in these alleys and bylanes. Her tactical intelligence cleverly articulated the causes of Muslim women, who were suffering multiple dimensions of oppression. She also exploited the Muslim fault lines effectively by pointing out the subjugation of the Pasmanda Muslims by the Ashraf class. For Hindus who are used to forever being talked down on ‘caste lines’, by political parties pitting one caste against another, this is indeed a refreshing change. She also succinctly pointed out the encroachment of lands including that of masjids by MIM while they routinely cry hoarse about the ‘shaheed’ Babri structure in Ayodhya. Her campaign proved a point or two to all political parties that Owaisis even in their own bastion are not invincible. However many demographics may be against her, Madhavi Latha needs to be appreciated for her feisty campaign which galvanized the cadre; she has surpassed all expectations.
It can be safely expected that Madhavi Latha will be given an important and responsible position by the BJP. The firebrand leader is here to stay. Just like Smriti Irani who went back having lost Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in 2014, to fight and win the constituency in 2019, the same can be expected of Madhavi Latha, even if the odds are against her now. However, there’s interesting news that the Satta Bazar is betting on her victory even now, if that happens she would have created history.
Political pundits have observed the record upsurge in voting on Election Day in favor of BJP all over Telangana. It is not very unlike the last-hour voting witnessed in favor of Congress in the Assembly elections held in December 2023. However, if freebies, money, and liquor influenced the voting pattern then, a genuine felt need for change seems to be the motivating factor now. Ordinary people can be seen on TV vouching that they voted for ‘puvvu/ flower’. There seems to be a silent undercurrent among the people to trounce both Congress and TRS. Psephologists who gave the BJP 6 seats a few weeks ago, (from the current 4 seats in parliament), are now revising their estimate up to 10 or more, if it comes true it would be a historic mandate for the BJP. All eyes fixed on 4th June 2024!
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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