A recent town hall event in Hyderabad’s Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency brought voters face-to-face with their byelection candidates, leading to a series of passionate exchanges. Organized by the Forum for Good Governance (FGG) at the Telangana Union of Working Journalists office, the meeting underscored a community’s determination to hold its political representatives accountable.
Representatives from major parties, including Dasoju Sravan Kumar for Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and S. Prakash Reddy for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), presented their visions for the constituency. However, voters quickly shifted the focus, openly challenging the parties on their choices for candidates.
A significant point of contention was the candidates’ criminal records. Residents highlighted that the BJP candidate faces five criminal cases, the BRS candidate one, and the Congress candidate a concerning seven. This prompted serious questions about the parties’ priorities, with many expressing frustration that ‘winnable’ candidates seemed to take precedence over those with clean public records.
Beyond candidate integrity, the discussion delved deep into critical civic problems plaguing Jubilee Hills. Long-standing issues such as severe road congestion, rampant encroachments, and inadequate drainage systems in areas like Rahmat Nagar and Erragadda were brought to the forefront. Residents from Shaikpet shared their decade-long struggle for public transport, recounting how their pleas consistently fall on deaf ears once elections are over.
In Indira Nagar colony, Yousufguda, a lack of reliable tap water and persistent flooding in low-lying areas during even moderate rainfall remain major concerns. Many attendees observed a troubling pattern: numerous long-neglected civic projects in their localities were suddenly fast-tracked, with projects worth ₹200 crore sanctioned and work initiated just two weeks before the election code came into effect. This last-minute flurry of activity only fueled voter skepticism.
The session, skillfully moderated by FGG president M. Padmanabha Reddy and Secretary Soma Srinivas Reddy, served as a powerful reminder of the electorate’s growing demand for transparency, integrity, and genuine commitment to addressing community needs.