In Mulugu’s Congress-BRS fight, daughter of slain Maoist takes on former Naxalite

Nagajyothi, currently the chairperson of the Mulugu Zilla Praja Parishad, is the daughter of late Maoist leader Bade Nageshwara Rao and ex-Maoist Rajeshwari.

The Scheduled Tribe-reserved constituency, situated in the eastern Mulugu district, is the largest Assembly segment in the state in terms of area and is dominated by tribals.

In the 2018 Telangana Assembly election, Seethakka had won by 22,671 votes against Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS, as BRS was known then) candidate Azmeera Chandulal.

Seethakka joined the Janashakti Naxal group when just 14. Eleven years later, in 1997, she quit and became a lawyer and started her political journey in the 2004 Assembly elections as a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) candidate. She was first elected from the Mulugu Assembly seat in 2009. In 2014, in the first elections held after the formation of Telangana, she lost to Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS, as the BRS was then known) candidate Azmeera Chandulal. Three years later, she joined the Congress and won the seat in the 2018 polls.

Seethakka, who completed a PhD in political science from Osmania University in 2022, says she is confident of winning for the third time, claiming a Congress wave in the state. “It has been 10 years (of BRS rule), and people want the Congress. But the BRS is doing everything possible, from distribution of money, liquor and freebies,” she says.

Mulugu Assembly constituency: Vote shares in Assembly polls in 2014 and 2018

Seethakka cites her work in the constituency, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. She says she travelled to remote hamlets then to distribute food and groceries.

Seethakka puts unemployment as among the biggest issues plaguing her constituency. “I want to solve this with not only government jobs, but also in the private sector,” she says, listing the lack of irrigation facilities and alleged problems with the Dharani land portal as other issues.

On the challenge from her BRS opponent, she says, “It is not just about the BRS candidate. The entire government is targeting me as I have been questioning them in the Assembly. They are spending hundreds of crores of rupees to defeat me.”

However, she admits she was surprised at the BRS’s choice of Nagajyothi. Apart from their former Naxal links, both hail from the same Adivasi Koya tribal community.

Nagajyothi lists the BRS’s advantages as “transformation” of the district over the last decade in terms of education and healthcare facilities, and its government’s welfare schemes. “Mulugu district was formed (in February 2019) even though the ruling party lost here last time. New mandals were carved out. The foundation for a medical college and hospital is already laid. Tribals have been given rights over podu (slash-and-burn agriculture) lands. All welfare schemes are implemented without corruption. Overall, there is a positive sentiment towards the BRS,” Nagajyothi says.

She is also banking on the goodwill for her late father, who was killed in an encounter in 1999. “My father did so much for the people here in the 1990s, and people still remember him. He could have become an MLA as he had offers from political parties. I have taken the path of electoral politics to serve the people,” she says.

On the influence of Naxalites in the region, Nagajyothi says, “There are no Naxalite issues in Mulugu constituency or district, except for some pockets like Vajedu and Venkatapuram in the forests bordering Chhattisgarh… Naxals have not raised any opposition to my candidature or party and there is no active Naxalite movement anywhere in Telangana.”

In this campaign, Nagajyothi has been talking of skill development centres to improve the livelihoods of locals, drinking water supply to remotest hamlets, completion of road projects delayed due to lack of forest clearance, and jobs in the private sector.