It is a bare-knuckled turf war for the Chevella Lok Sabha seat as two of the biggest land-owning families in the region face off on May 13. Pitted against each other are Konda Vishweshwar Reddy and Ranjeet Reddy. Mr. Vishweshwar Reddy, who was earlier with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and had a short stint with the Congress, is contesting on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket. Pitted against him is the incumbent Ranjeet Reddy who is contesting on a Congress ticket. He was earlier with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Flying the BRS flag this time is Kasani Gnaneshwar Mudiraj, who was earlier with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), and is considered a strongman with the backing of backward castes in the constituency. While Mr. Vishweshwar Reddy has declared assets worth ₹4,568 crore, Mr. Ranjit Reddy has declared assets worth ₹435 crore. Mr. Kasani Gnaneshwar’s assets amount to ₹228 crore.
“Dochukuntaru daskuntaru (they steal and protect their property). These people are switching parties not for any ideology but to protect their properties. They don’t care about development of the region,” said Srinivas Mudiraj, a shop owner at Chevella Marketyard. “The backward castes constitute a large percentage of population here. Why are they not given tickets to contest and represent us?” questioned Mr. Srinivas who is upset that his family is out of the Rythu Bandhu scheme where he used to get ₹26,000.
Yards away is the Chevella town square with statues of Chakali Ailamma, Sarvai Papadu, Doddi Komariah and other legendary figures hailing from the backward castes. “It is shadow boxing that nobody can see. Patnam Mahender Reddy is the nephew of Sabitha Indira Reddy. His wife is contesting from Malkajgiri and they have their medical college at the entrance of the town. Sabitha is in the BRS. Between Indira Reddy and Sabitha, they have represented the place for 30 years but there is no road connectivity to Kowkuntla village. If someone is ill, they will die before reaching the hospital, the road is so bad,” says Manikyam sitting on the steps of the ancient Venkateswara Temple overlooking the highway.
The rural facade of Chevella LS seat fools nobody. The constituency has seven Assembly segments — Chevella, Serilingampally, Rajendranagar, Maheshwaram, Pargi, Vikarabad and Tandur — stretching over two districts of Vikarabad and Ranga Reddy (named after Konda Vishweshwar Reddy’s grandfather). Rangareddy district has the highest per capita income in the state at ₹8.15 lakh, while the national per capita income is ₹98,374 in 2022-23.
While there is road connectivity to Kowkuntala is not good, the Serilingampally segment has some of the best road stretches in Telangana. The twinkling urban lights of skyscrapers in Neopolis near Gandipet can be seen from Moinabad highway as there are no street lights there. The stretch of road that connects Chevella to Hyderabad is a thin strip of asphalt with heavy traffic and large banyan trees on either side. If there is one thing that connects the vast Chevella constituency, it is this road. The land prices in the area soared when the earlier government gave the go ahead for a Regional Ring Road. It was to go parallel with road widening. But the National Green Tribunal stepped in and called for an environment impact assessment before the 100-year-old banyan trees are cut or displaced.
Chevella is also where the River Musi is born in the Anantagiri Hills in Vikarabad. The GO 111 which restricted development on either side of the river as it is a source of drinking water also binds the people of Chevella with Hyderabad. It is also a source of conflict as the constituents see the scrapping of the GO as an opportunity to get higher realty values. “The change of government has stalled all land deals. Prices have not gone down but there are no transactions,” said Mr. Mudiraj.
Inside the Venkateshwara Typing Institute a group of boys and girls go clickety-clack as they learn to put their fingers in the correct place to type faster. “Typing is a skill. If we are properly equipped we will get a job,” said Hanumanthu. Outside on the road, three women carry large colourful pots of water to their home in the setting sun. More than seventy-five years after Independence, as political parties carry out their cacophonic campaign, the lives of these people appear to be off the radar.
