Bhongir: From Maoism to politics of money power
Bhongir in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district (old Nalgonda) has a historic setting rooted in the idealism of a bygone era but it now hosts an election contest that mirrors the realities of new-age politics, driven by resourceful candidates in pursuit of state power.
Bhongir also has been a landmark in the long history of agitation and struggle in the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh state for creating a new Telangana state. Much before K Chandrashekhar Rao and his TRS (now BRS) came to be identified as the harbingers of Telangana state, it was here way back in 1996, when the now defunct Telangana Jana Sabha, enjoying the patronage of the Maoists and other activists, passed the 'Bhongir Telangana Declaration', de manding a separate state.
Once the hotbed of Maoism and the People's War Group, Bhongir has seen many mobilisations as well as many bloody encounters and murders including that of Belli Lalitha, the revolutionary folk singer.
Former state home minister A Madhav Reddy, who represented the constituency, was killed when his car was blown up in a suspected Maoist landmine blast.
The Maoist movement has lost its firepower here and most of Telangana. The pockets of influence the CPI and the CPI-M once enjoyed here too have considerably waned.
Cut to the present, the electoral contest here is a repeat clash between two candidates, the politicians known for their wealth and business interests — BRS MLA P Shekhara Reddy and Congress candidate K Anil Kumar Reddy. In 2018, Shekhara Reddy defeated Anil Kumar Reddy.
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