Leveraging technology for eƒective grievance redressal is my plan, says Sujana Chowdary
The former Union Minister, in his †rst direct elections, is contesting from Vijayawada West Assembly constituency on a BJP ticket; there is an urgent need for infrastructure revitalisation in the constituency, and improvement of basic amenities in the hil
he bustling landscape of Vijayawada West Assembly constituency is witnessing hectic canvassing by a seasoned politician contending for the MLA seat this time.
Former Union Minister Yalamanchili Satyanarayana (Sujana) Chowdary is the BJP candidate backed by the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance for the Vijayawada West segment. He is facing direct elections for the rst time.
Speaking to The Hindu during a break from campaigning, Mr. Chowdary says the initial 15 days, he was immersed in studying the issues plaguing the 22 divisions of the constituency. “I am compiling a comprehensive list of these
Tproblems and plausible remedies. There’s a lot of work to be done here,” he says, adding that the underground drainage system is in shambles, the drinking water supply is unreliable, the power lines are haphazardly laid, and the road network is in bad shape. “There is an urgent need for infrastructure revitalisation,” he emphasises.
Pointing to the large population of the constituency that lives on hillocks, he talks about the need to improve amenities for them. He refuses to take the label of ‘non-local’ given to him by his political opponents in the fray. “I am a native of Kanchikacharla, 25 km from here and both my maternal and paternal ancestors have vast stretches of farmlands in Krishna district. My roots are here,” he asserts.
Mr. Chowdary’s desire to contest from Vijayawada Lok Sabha did not material, as the party leadership decided to eld him from the West Assembly constituency. “Unlike the practice of choosing a place based on caste equations, I am happy to be contesting from the West segment, which is a mix of all castes and creeds,” he says. . “For e©ective governance, I plan to establish 22 oces in each of the divisions, leveraging technology for swift grievance redressal.” Direct communication channels between people and their elected representatives would make a world of difference, he explains and opines that it is time to part with the conventional pyramid structure of hierarchy and embrace the at organisational structure, as it allows more uid communication ow and faster decision-making.
When pointed to the fact that the West segment has a large population of Muslim minorities, Mr. Chowdary exudes condence that he would address their concerns by “dispelling the misconception that BJP is anti-Muslim”.
The former Minister has been accused of resorting to nancial bungling in the past. “The smear campaigns don’t perturb me and I have been steadfast in my commitment to serving people and generating jobs,” he asserts.
Capital issue
Mr. Chowdary says, “neither” when asked who should be held more responsible for the ‘capital woes’ in the State—the Congress for carrying out the bifurcation in an unscientic way, or the BJP, which came to power at the Centre but denied Andhra Pradesh its share of funds and the promised projects. “Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has derailed the capital project,” he insists, claiming “I had taken the lead in stopping Mr. Jagan from shifting the capital from Amaravati for which “I was charged with acquiring 600 acres of land in the capital region. I challenged Minister Botsa Satyanarayana and others to prove if I own even an inch of land in the capital region.” Amaravati project was designed to act as a growth engine, he says, adding, “but Mr. Jagan completely destroyed it.”
Mr. Chowdary says YSRCP’s “misrule” destroyed the vitals of the State. “Whatever it did was in violation of the rule book,” he alleged. Asked why the Centre did not check on it, he attributed it to the cooperative federalism enshrined in the Indian Constitution. “Ours is a cooperative federal system, which necessitates synergy between the Centre and the States for e©ective governance,” he says, adding: “The Centre can’t a©ord to intervene repeatedly in the State government a©airs.”