As the countdown begins to the Assembly elections, due on November 30, the sudden protest on Friday night in Hyderabad that saw hundreds hit the streets over the alleged suicide of a young woman at a hostel in the city is being seen as indicative of the dissatisfaction over the lack of jobs in the state. While the Hyderabad police have said the woman who killed herself did so for personal reasons, the protesters claimed she was upset over the cancellation of the government recruitment exams for which she had been preparing for more than two years. Congress state chief A Revanth Reddy was among the first to blame the government for her death, with AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge and former chief Rahul Gandhi targeting the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government over the issue. The incident also feeds into the anger over the series of paper leaks in exams conducted by the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TPSC), and the subsequent postponement and cancellation of exams, etc. The opposition has sensed an opportunity in this and has been raising the matter of unfilled government jobs. The ruling BRS has tried to counter this calling rising unemployment a universal problem, not limited to Telangana. Having already released its list of candidates well ahead of elections, as well as the poll manifesto, even as both the Congress and BJP are still working out the same, the ruling party believes it is on solid ground. #WATCH | Telangana: A large number of people, including students, staged a protest in Hyderabad after a student allegedly died by suicide pic.twitter.com/pKWVYGVcKC — ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2023 BRS leader and Hyderabad in-charge Dasoju Sravan said states ruled by the Congress as well as the BJP were grappling with unemployment as well, and attacked the Congress for playing “dirty politics on dead bodies of young children”, referring to the suicide. Sravan also referred to the police investigation attributing the suicide to personal reasons. “At least here in Telangana, so much industrial development has happened. About 20-25 lakh unemployed youths got jobs with companies set up during this period. Also, the state government has initiated the process of recruiting for 2.20 lakh jobs. Some have already been inducted. Question paper leaks are unfortunate. No government wants these to happen and sabotage students' lives. Every measure is being taken to curtail such fiascos,” Sravan said. The BJP is going to voters with the message that the BRS has not done anything for the people in the last decade, including in providing jobs, said former MLA and BJP state vice-president N V S S Prabhakar. “Police officials and representatives of the ruling party are trying to cheat unemployed youths again and again. All the coaching centres are here in Hyderabad, so are the unemployed youth. How can unemployment not be an issue?” Prabhakar said. Besides unemployment, the BJP is flagging issues around law and order, crime against women, narcotics, encroachment of water bodies, civic infrastructure, etc., specific to Hyderabad. “In nine-and-a-half years of its rule, all that the BRS government has done is build flyovers. The ground reality is different. The BRS is flying and the city is crying. On the ground, it is 'manhole deaths', inundated homes, overflowing nullahs, rising crime against women and drug abuse. The city screams for the BJP,” Prabhakar said. Sravan said the BRS is ready to counter these allegations, with its leaders taking charge in 54 constituencies already, and more to take over soon. The party is setting up a "war room" in each constituency to connect with voters, he said. “We will be reaching out to social groups, women, Dalits, students and unemployed and won't leave anyone behind. We will educate and enlighten them about what we have done so far, and what we intend to do next, and will consider for public policy any issues that are brought up by the people in the course of these interactions. There is close coordination between voters and our party,” said Sravan. The Congress campaign has taken a bit of blow following the first list of candidates announced by the party. Hyderabad's District Congress Committee (DCC) cadres have been sitting on a dharna since Sunday morning, alleging the party has failed to field strong candidates. “The candidates for seats in the Old City are worthless. None of the expected names has been given tickets. There are no strong candidates. For instance, we don't even know who the candidate from Malakpet is,” a leader said. DCC president Sameer Walliullah, who also expressed disappointment over the tickets, said this will "affect" the party's fight against the AIMIM in the Old City, listing education, medical health, unemployment, civic amenities, roads, law and order, etc. The AIMIM has been winning all the seven constituencies here for years. “If the cadre don't support, how will the Congress work?” Walliullah said. Of the total 119 Assembly constituencies in Telangana, 15 are in Hyderabad district. With a few more urban and semi-urban segments, the Greater Hyderabad region has 24 key Assembly constituencies that are likely to see three-cornered fights between the BRS, BJP and Congress.
