When politicos can’t self-vote
They take a lot of pain to go up to the doorsteps of the electorate and seek votes with folded hands. Some of them even touch the feet of the elderly. They seek votes from all, but they cannot vote for themselves. What’s more, even their family members cannot vote for them.
Hyderabad sitting MP Asaduddin Owaisi cannot vote for himself since he is a registered voter in Khairatabad, which falls under Secunderabad Parliamentary constituency and he is a resident of Himayatnagar.
Secunderabad sitting MP Anjan Kumar Yadav is a resident of the old city and his name is on the electoral list from Charminar area falling under the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat. And the list goes on with Marri Shashidhar Reddy of the Congress, Talasani Srinivas Yadav of TD, Jampana Pratap of YSRC, T. Padma Rao of TRS, Akbaruddin Owaisi of MIM, to name a few.
Mr Shashidhar Reddy of the Congress, contest- ing from Sanathnagar but who is a resident of Secunderabad Assembly segment said, “It’s my responsibility to vote. I did not want to change my residence because our family has been staying here since 1956. There is no harm in having one’s name in one constituency and contesting from another segment. I regard the people of Sanathnagar constituency as my family.” Similarly, TD’s Srinivas Yadav said, he would first vote for his party candidates contesting from the Cantonment segment, and Malkajgiri LS seat where he lives before going to Sanathnagar on April 30.
Mr Anjan Kumar Yadav said, all the people of the Secunderabad Parliamentary constituency were his family members. “While me and my family give our votes to the candidates of our choice, a majority of people in Secunderabad have been electing me as their MP for the past two terms. Actually, the question of shifting our residence or our names on the voters’ list to another constituency does not arise as it is not an issue at all,” he said.