I am the most accessible MP: BJP Chevella candidate Konda Vishweshwar Reddy

BJP's Chevella candidate Konda Viveshwar Reddy, the richest in Lok Sabha elections, discusses his vision for development in an interview.

BJP’s Chevella candidate Konda Viveshwar Reddy is the richest in the fray in these Lok Sabha elections with declared assets of over ₹4,500 crore. He won in 2014 on a BRS ticket, lost in 2019 contesting on the Congress ticket and is now contesting under the saffron flag. He hails from an illustrious family — his grandfather K.V. Ranga Reddy was deputy CM and has a district named after him while his father K. Madhava Reddy was a former Chief Justice. So, Mr. Reddy has a legacy to live up to and in this interview with The Hindu, explains why he should be elected.

It is going great guns and the response is just phenomenal. When I did ‘Praja Ashirwada yatra’ I just wanted to inform my followers and seek their blessings, but it turned out to be a joining ‘yatra’. Wherever I went, people were expressing their interest to join BJP.

It’s not a manifesto but a ‘Sankalp’ on what I’ll do. Mine is a diverse constituency with developed areas like hi-tech offices, international airport and also backward regions. I have seven regions with specific problems and want to address them with a roadmap like tackling water issues, railway connections, loans etc. Healthcare is lacking in many areas and Ayushman Bharat is the answer.

Roads are bad, sewages are overflowing, there is shortage of drinking water and lakes have become stinking pools. Schools are in bad shape while private education has become very expensive. Power cuts and tankers have returned after the Congress took charge. We need more parks, better Anganwadis and creches for working women. In rural areas, people want pensions while unemployment is a huge problem. Farmers need irrigation with borewells going dry. We want to promote millets instead of paddy as they are very profitable (MSP of rice ₹200 per quintal, MSP of millets ₹17,000).

Truth is my house is open for all. There are no gates to my house and no security to stop anyone. I am the most accessible MP and the only one to have gone to every village in my term of five years and I continue to do so till now. These are just personal attacks by the Opposition as they have nothing to say.

I am exactly where I am, working for the region. TRS was supposed to be the saviour of Telangana. They claimed funds were being siphoned off to Andhra, but started looting by building Kaleswaram (project) and made the state bankrupt leaving a huge debt. Original agitators were ignored so it is the TRS which had changed, making a ‘U’ turn betraying the State, not me. I joined Congress expecting Telangana to be unshackled from KCR’s tyrannical family, but two-third MLAs jumped ship to BRS. I am for Telangana and because BJP’s ideology is India first — which means the development of states, regions and Chevella — I joined it.

It is the Congress which has become communal as they want to have a quota for Muslims which is against Dr Ambedkar and the Constitution. We want to do what is right for the nation. Religion-based reservations are harmful and in many cases, harmful for Muslims too, because only the educated elite will utilise it and not the poor like it happened in some States.