On The Ground With Madhavi Latha, Who Is Leading BJP's Fight In Asaduddin Owaisi's Fortress — Report From Hyderabad

The Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, known to be the fortress of Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), has captured the nation’s attention since the announcement of the candidature of Kompella Madhavi Latha, by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Madhavi Latha, known to few until just two months ago, has gone viral on social media due to her fearless speeches against Owaisi and the AIMIM. A charismatic speaker, she is fluent in both Telugu and Dakhni, the Hyderabadi Urdu dialect.

My day in Hyderabad following her campaign began at Hotel Rajdhani located in the Siddiamber Bazar area of the city, where she was to address a programme titled ‘Razakar Hyderabad v/s Viksit Hyderabad’ that was organised by Pragna Bharati, which is part of the Sangh Parivar and Modi ka Pariwar, (an organisation working for PM Modi’s victory in the Lok Sabha elections).

Addressing the gathering, Madhavi Latha spoke about how things had remained the same in the Old City over the last 40 odd years and that there was a pressing need for a change now.

From there, I went to the Barkatpura party office, where she was scheduled to arrive after the event for a programme organised by a news channel.

Here, I introduced myself and we spoke briefly.

The gathering often cheered her comments, and raised slogans of Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Jai Shri Ram, especially when she took on Owaisi.

The loudest cheers were however heard when she said that she was committed to renaming Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar, if elected.

Among the questions she answered were regarding the video of her of shooting an arrow on Shri Ramnavami that was allegedly aimed at a masjid.

"The arrow was aimed at the sky. You need to see the position of my hand properly. The masjid was quite far away," she says.

"If I am really against Muslims, why would I participate in the Hazrat Ali julus (procession) during Ramzan," she asked.

Accusing the AIMIM of corruption, she said that the south zone (in which the Old City is located) of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is allocated maximum funds but the condition of the area remains poor.

At the event I also happened to meet Krishna Ksheersagar who looks very similar to the party's Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh. 

"I have not seen a campaign like this in the past 20 years in Hyderabad. Muslim support has increased as she is constantly showing how Owaisi has not done enough for the constituency," he said.

The event ended with Madhavi Latha reciting some shlokas on the request of the anchor.

We then began our journey to Jiyaguda, which was the area in which the day's padayatra was scheduled.

The Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency comprises seven assembly segments — Malakpet, Karwan, Charminar, Goshamahal, Chandrayangutta, Yakutpura and Bahadurpura. All of them, except Goshamahal, have MLAs from the AIMIM.

However, Yakutpura saw a close fight between the AIMIM and the Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT). The candidate fielded by the MBT, which was formed by Mohammad Amanullah Khan due to differences with Asaddudin's father Sultan Salahuddin, lost by as little as around 800 votes.

Owaisi has won the constituency in the last four Lok Sabha elections. His vote share went up from 52.94 per cent in 2014 to 63.95 per cent in 2019. The BJP's vote share saw a decline from 32.05 per cent in 2014 to 26.8 per cent in 2019.

Asked about the reason, a political commentator who did not wish to be named stated that this could be because of the lack of an alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the fact that the BRS was stronger in 2019.

Jiyaguda falls under the Karwan Assembly constituency. Asked about the demographics of the area, Bhaskar Gupta, a BJP member distributing pamphlets during the padayatra, said that it was majorly Hindu and that the BJP was likely to perform well there. 

He added that the Hindu population here comprised people from over 30 communities and not just a few.

The campaign vehicle was taken wherever the roads were wide enough. In the narrow lanes, Madhavi Latha and the rest of the karyakartas proceeded on foot. All throughout, people had come out of their homes to see her.

For children, it was no less than a festival. A large number of them approached Madhavi Latha for photographs and she smilingly obliged.

While the padayatra did give a picture that she was popular on the ground as well, I wanted to know what people from the party thought about the overall picture. 

“One of the challenges is the huge number of bogus votes in this constituency. Most of them go to the AIMIM. Further, there is no proper checking of women who come to vote with their faces covered. This allows them to vote multiple times," a party worker said.

"They are known to rig the voting process. There are many areas where we cannot enter and officials are hand in glove with them."

“Rents in the interiors of Jiyaguda or for that matter any other area of Old City are much less than that of the main roads or other areas because people are hesitant to live here. This is also because our areas have missed the development bus due to the religious politics of the AIMIM,” he added.

I then spoke with Rajesh Kumar, a local resident. Asked if the BJP stood a chance of winning the Hyderabad seat, he said, “We are praying for that to happen. We earlier had a BJP MLA from this segment. Baddam Bal Reddy won from here three times.”

Swarajya spoke to a number of other residents who had come outside their homes to get a glimpse of the campaign. While they were willing to speak and share their thoughts, they were afraid of being photographed. 

Srikanth, in his 20s, who was standing along with two of his friends, who are of a similar age, said, “We are afraid that someone might come and beat us.”

All residents said that the condition of roads in the area had to be improved.

Baldev Singh, a party worker, said, “The main challenge is not here in Karwan, but in areas like Charminar. If all Hindus come out to vote and the votes do not get split, i.e., go to the BRS or the Congress, we can potentially win. It seems like they have united to defeat us.

"The MBT has decided not to contest. The Congress and BRS have fielded dummy candidates. The Congress could have fielded Feroze Khan (who lost by a narrow margin in the 2023 assembly elections from nearby Nampally), if it really wanted to put up a fight.

“I would say we have a reasonable chance of winning. Look at how the Owaisis (referring to Asaduddin and his brother Akbaruddin) are running around the constituency to campaign.

"Earlier, they would just do a few programmes, today you can see Owaisi even riding a bike. They are also saying Hindu-Muslim bhai bhai. He might soon visit a mandir. Such has been the impact of Madhavi Latha," he added.

The padayatra by then made its way to a Maisamma temple (a local Goddess in Telangana), where party workers prayed for Madhavi Latha's victory. 

Almost every lane and bylane, however narrow, was covered. The reason, a party worker said, “If we don’t go to a particular lane, the voters there might get unhappy and not vote for us.” 

Given the swiftness of the campaign, Madhavi Latha did not address the crowd often. It was more of a meet and greet. 

The padayatra ended at a location in which a bust of Swami Vivekananda had been installed. After garlanding it and expressing her gratitude to the residents, Madhavi Latha and her team left to address a meeting of the party’s OBC Morcha in Saidabad.

The day ended at the office of the Virinchi group (one of the businesses run by the family), where she promised to give me more time the next day.

The next morning at the Virinchi group office, there was a breakfast programme in which about 50 Muslim women belonging mainly to the Pasmanda communities were invited. Madhavi Latha personally served them and interacted with them. This was followed by a television programme.

One of the women, Hazira B, said, "I live near Fateh Darwaza. I have come to seek help for getting a job for myself and my children. They drive auto rickshaws. I believe she will be able to assist us. If not a job, if I can get assistance to purchase sewing machines, I will be able to earn a living by stitching and also teaching other ladies."

Asked if she is a member of the party, she replied in the affirmative and said that she has been doing door to door campaigning for Madhavi Latha in her area.

"Why are you not happy with Owaisi?" I asked.

"It's only people around them who have benefited. Common people like us haven't. We have remained poor," she added.

On being asked about the kind of support being received by Madhavi Latha from the Muslim communities, Mirza Abbas, who works with the Minority Morcha of the Telangana BJP and was coordinating the breakfast programme said, “There is good support. People know her for her social work. Muslim women remember her for the role in the struggle to abolish triple talaq."

“Under the rule of the Owaisis, only those close to them have benefited. The vast majority of them, including Pasmandas, have remained poor and backward. The wealth of the Owaisi family has increased exponentially over the years. I am over 50 years old now. I remember that they used to have a rented house and his father Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi used to travel on a bike," he said.

Another party worker, who did not wish to be identified, stated, “Land grabbing and illegal registration of encroached lands is a major source of their income. 

“They have become entrenched in the system. They have all the MLAs and the corporators and thus the police as well as the officials work with them. And they have been around for decades. So we are definitely up against a huge challenge. 

“This greatly affects the quality of work in the Old City. A contractor is forced to pay a cut to the party, the officials, keep some as profit and then use the remainder for the actual project.”  

After this I spoke with Madhavi Latha on a number of issues she has been raising in the campaign, including her take on the BRS and Congress candidates, bogus votes, etc. The conversation will be published in a separate piece.

Post the interview, I visited the Charminar area to speak to locals.

Mohammad Momin, who has a bangle stall said, "There is no doubt about the victory of the AIMIM. Asaduddin will win for sure.

"Madhavi Latha has gone viral on social media these days. Don't you think she will make an impact?" I asked.

"All of that won't matter. Her statements are not liked by many. She doesn't know how to speak when in politics," he said.

Asked if he was satisfied about the work done by Owaisi, he said, "I am fully satisfied. There are no problems here. People live peacefully. The BJP has nothing to show about work done in Hyderabad. If I start telling you what Owaisi has done, it will take the whole night."

I then asked him about the Congress' chances, stating that one of its candidates, Feroze Khan, had come close to winning Nampally in the 2023 assembly elections.

"People can come close to winning, but cannot win," he said.

Going a bit further, I met Manoj Kumar, who migrated to the city from Bihar and makes his living by selling lemon juice and soda.

Asked who would win, he said that it would be the AIMIM.

"Owaisi will win. There is no doubt. I also support them. There is no issue here. I have lived here for over 20 years. People live in peace," he said.

While we were speaking, Mohammad Abdul Karim (whom he referred to as 'boss') arrived. Kumar quickly served him a glass of lemon juice and said, "Speak to our owner. He will tell you more."

Karim said that what people here want is education. "We want our children to get good education. They should learn English, Telugu and Hindi," he said.

"We live in peace here. Pointing to Kumar, he said, "See we are practising Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb here. There is no division due to religion or language. He has come here, brought his family and is supporting them by selling lemon juice and soda here. He has been here since a long time. There are many more like him."

Asked about the 2024 elections, he said, "I want Rahul Gandhi to be the Prime Minister."

So will you vote for Congress, I asked, "No. I will vote for AIMIM, for Asaduddin Owaisi. But I want Rahul Gandhi to be the PM. At the Centre, I want Congress."

Rashid, who said he is from Malda in West Bengal and was selling decorative items, said, "Anybody except the BJP would be fine. The AIMIM or the Congress may win. But the BJP could also win, as they have the resources at their disposal."

When Swarajya asked him why he thinks the Congress has a chance, Rashid said, "I think there is a chance because the Congress is in power in the state."

Murari Lal, who sells earphones and other small electronic devices, said, "The BJP will win. I want change. It's been a few decades now with the AIMIM in power. Development has not happened under them."

"Lot of people are resigned to the notion that Owaisi will win. But Madhavi Latha represents hope for people like me. If she wins, she will create history," he said as he signed off.

This report is part of Swarajya's 50 Ground Stories Project - an attempt to throw light on themes and topics that are often overlooked or looked down. You can support this initiative by sponsoring as little as Rs 2,999/-. Click here for more details.