Positive incumbency buoys Harish Rao

​Siddipet: TRS ‘trouble shooter’ and Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao is enjoying positive incumbency but with a rider in his Siddipet Assembly constituency. People are demanding jobs to their children; two-bedroom houses to lead a decent life and three acres of land for permanent livelihoods. In fact, all the three demands are the salient promises made by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in 2014 elections.

In all, voters in one of the oldest assembly constituencies in Telangana are delighted with Harish performance mainly in fulfilling the assurances made to locals and his pledge to serve people round-the-clock to all sections for the last 14 years. The TRS leader succeeded in emerging an undisputed leader and made Siddipet a fortress for him to pursue his political future for a lifetime after KCR relinquished the constituency and handed over cudgels to his trusted lieutenant in the early 2000.

Infrastructure development mainly road network connecting every remote village to the Siddipet headquarter, safe drinking water at people’s doorsteps in many villages through Mission Bhagiratha, revival of farming activity under Mission Kakatiya in the dryland areas, construction of the biggest reservoir Mallanna Sagar with 50 tmc ft capacity under Kalashwaram and establishment of government medical college are the jewels in Harish Rao’s crown to claim his strive towards registering fast growth of his constituency in the entire state.

Siddipet had achieved many accolades at national level by clinching awards in the area of cleanliness, digital payments etc. Roadside tea stall owner A Padma of Ramancha village in Siddipet constituency explained her woes in providing better education with meager income to her two daughters. She said the major disappointment in her life is her children did not get the government jobs. The 45-year-old woman said she reposed faith in KCR government but the latter failed to provide jobs her children.

Her elder daughter completed BEd and waiting for teacher post for the past four years. Another daughter completed BTech and pursuing MTech, Padma said “My dream is to see my children as government employees and is not fulfilled as the TRS government failed in fulfilling the promise of recruitment of one lakh posts,” she said. However, she hoped that the TRS government will fulfill her wish at least in the second tenure, if KCR comes to power.

A small farmer Srinivas from the same village was unhappy with the TRS government for its failure in accomplishing the promise of providing two-bedroom houses for the poor. Rs 8,000 provided as incentive under Rythu Bandu scheme helped him to take up farming activity but owning a house remain a distance dream. Landless labour Narasaiah from SC (Scheduled Caste) community said that he was attracted by the promise of 3 acres to Dalits announced by KCR in 2014 elections. He was yet to get the land and eke his livelihood by toiling hard everyday. His family would have been settled permanently if he has been given the land.

Despite the prevailing circumstances, Harsih will emerge victorious but the TRS leader would have to sweat more to secure one lakh majority as boasted by TRS leaders as against 90,000 plus majority he got in 2014 elections. Analysts said that if Harish Rao convinced the ‘disgruntled’ small sections in the next two-week poll campaign, the TRS trouble shooter will retain his majority.