File photo of Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu
A union minister, an anti-corruption crusader, a former top cop, two educationists and a doctor who happens to be the grandson of former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao -that is the line-up of candidates in Malkajgiri, the Lok Sabha constituency in Andhra Pradesh which also happens to be the country's largest in terms of voter-base.
An urban constituency abutting Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Malkajgiri has pockets of affluence juxtaposed with unauthorised clusters. It is also a constituency which has a substantial population of outsiders from Seemandhra. (
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In 2009, union minister Sarve Satyanarayana of the Congress had triumphed over his TDP rival by over 93,000 votes. His party may be taking a beating in other parts of the state, but he is confident. "I have been nurturing the constituency, looking after all the needs of the people,'' he argues.
But former chief minister
N Chandrababu Naidu, who transformed Hyderabad into a modern city, is back here selling dreams of development and jobs. "Today there is so much insecurity and uncertainty, everything has come to a standstill,'' the TDP leader claims. He has fielded a freshman, Malla Reddy, who runs a chain of engineering colleges in the area, from the constituency. (
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Jaganmohan Reddy's YSR Congress has nominated retired IPS official Dinesh Reddy, who was ironically the state police chief when he was arrested for his alleged role in a series of scams.
Giving the established players a challenge is former IAS officer Jayaprakash Narayan, or JP, of the Lok Satta party, which promises to fight for clean politics.
"I have chosen Malkajgiri because rest of Andhra Pradesh is still not ready for new politics. Whereas in Malkajgiri, 85 per cent are young people, educated, so they won't be swayed by money power, liquor, partisanship of caste or religion,'' Mr JP says.
Rounding up the list is Dr Sudha Kiran, the Aam Aadmi Party candidate who also happens to be the grandson of the late P. V. Narasimha Rao.