Former MP Ponnam Prabhakar is a prominent face from Backward Classes (BC) in Telangana Congress. He is the candidate for the party from Husnabad this year. Having faced defeat twice from Karimnagar, he is contesting from Husnabad for the first time.
News18 spoke with Prabhakar who stressed about electoral powers of Backward Class leaders in the party. Though the community is active in all constituencies, but they don’t have protection in the legislature as SC/ST communities do.
Over senior party leader Ponnala Lakshmaiah quitting the party weeks before the state elections, and TPCC president Revanth Reddy courting controversy by calling him “aged and in his leg”, Prabhakar admitted that Reddy crossed the line. “No one is a bonded slave in the party and one can resign whenever he wishes”.
Edited Interview
Q: What are the main issues in your constituency Husnabad?
Firstly, none of the eligible people in the constituency has received 2BHK houses. Not even a single one. Secondly, there is a severe scarcity of water despite the government making lofty promises about Kaleshwaram irrigation project. The BRS MLA here has done nothing in the past 10 years. I have come to Saidapur now which is known for Sarvai Papanna, a people’s leader who fought against Zamindars and Muslim rulers. The locals are unhappy that nothing has been done to honour him.
Q: How much electoral power does the BC community hold in Telangana?
The community is one that has been engaged in political and social dialogues in the state since many decades. Their cause has been given a fillip by our leader Rahul Gandhi who has made caste census one of his main agendas. BCs have always found a voice in the party because of its democratic nature. In BRS, the president and working president belong to the same family. But in the Congress, if the president is a Reddy, other important positions are held by people from BC and SC communities.
Though the BC community is active in all constituencies, they do not have protection in the legislature as SC/ST communities do. We do have reservations in local bodies. Our leader has started the dialogue of ‘jitni abadi utni hissedari’ and hopefully we will also get protections like the other communities do.
Q. There were reports that you do not have the support of the local cadre in Husnabad. Is that true?
No, I came here because the people wanted me here. I am a faithful soldier of the party and a Congress product. I will work for every caste, community and person and ensure that the party wins. There is no divide among us.
Q: Senior BC leader Ponnala Lakshmaiah resigned from the Congress saying BC leaders are not being valued in the party. What do you say about that?
I would say even if he was not happy with a few developments, he should have continued to fight for the party. It is true that senior party leaders refused to meet him in Delhi and he was upset. But still, he should have stood by the party.
Q: TPCC president Revanth Reddy came under fire for saying “Lakshmaiah is aged 80 and on his last legs”. Do you think those remarks were unwarranted?
Yes, I have to admit Revanth crossed a line there. I understand that he said those words in the heat of the moment, but in politics, you have to be careful about what you say in public. No one is a bonded slave in the party and one can resign whenever he wishes.
Q: How many seats will Congress win?
I am not sure about that, but I will win with a good majority.
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