High decibel campaign, low expectations and lower voter turnout in Jubilee Hills byelection

In the land between two nalas in Tawakkal Nagar near Ameerpet, a Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board staffer oversees the cleaning of an underground sewerage line. Piled high beside him is a dark black stinking matter. “We are doing it because there is election here,” he laughs. For the past one month, sanitation workers have toiled relentlessly to clean up the area, but not very successfully. The lane has a patches of fetid water flowing through the street.

The street is a microcosm of a problem that is common to other parts of the constituency. Be it Srinivasa Nagar, the main road of Yousfuguda, Srinagar Colony, or Shaikpet – areas where a two-bedroom hall kitchen rent tops ₹35,000 and 2-BHK apartments cost upwards of ₹2 crore.

As a high-decibel campaign mounted by political parties drew to a close, the issues of the area remained in the background.

“We don’t expect much from political parties. If they can take care of the ‘mori’ (drain), water supply and motorable roads, that is enough,” says Shaikh Dawood, who runs a garage in Yellareddyguda.

Actor Tanikella Bharani after casting his vote in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit:
NAGARA GOPAL

Not surprisingly, the Jubilee Hills constituency recorded one of the lowest voting percentages at 48.43%.

When the Congress candidate visited the location on October 21 at 10.50 a.m., he promised good roads in the area while walking on the road that was covered with sewage water. Other candidates deployed campaign vehicles fitted out with large LED screens and speakers where the sound levels reached a window-rattling 100 dB.

While the decibel level of the campaign reached new levels, the narrative remained on the ground. One candidate’s selling point was that he was a ‘local’ and is approachable. Another candidate’s plus point was that she was like ‘woman’ of a family. Another candidate’s campaign claimed that they would rename the area into something else. Ironically, the Jubilee Hills constituency has an area that is already named like that.

Lost in this din were the issues that affect the area. Issues that could have become part of an agenda for improving civic and social life.

Despite being a neighbourhood with low-income groups from Shaikpet to Yellareddyguda, a majority of the polling centres on Tuesday were private educational institutions. Out of the 407 polling stations, 227 were hosted in private schools and colleges. The constituency has names like Sanjay Nagar Wadder Basthi, Sai Baba Nagar Slum, Venkatgiri Slum, Rahmath Nagar Slum, Sri Ram Nagar Slum and Karmika Nagar Slum among others. Some of the Karmika Nagar voters had to step inside St Solomon High School, which is a privately run institution.