I’ll leverage technology for effective grievance-redressal, says Sujana Chowdary

Yalamanchili Satyanarayana Chowdary, BJP candidate for Vijayawada West, aims for innovative governance and infrastructure revitalization.

The bustling landscape of Vijayawada West Assembly constituency is witnessing hectic canvassing by a seasoned politician contending for the MLA seat this time.

Former Rajya Sabha member and former Central Minister Yalamanchili Satyanarayana (Sujana) Chowdary is the BJP candidate backed by the TDP-JSP-BJP (NDA) alliance for the Vijayawada West segment. He is facing direct elections for the first time and brings with him a wealth of experience and innovative governance dynamics.  

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 problems 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.

Mr. Chowdary 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 seat did not material, as the party leadership decided to field 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 effective governance, he says focus would be on transparency, accountability and accessibility. “I plan to establish 22 offices 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 flat organisational structure, as it allows more fluid communication flow and faster decision-making.