Hyderabad: The Jubilee Hills Constituency Colonies Forum, representing scores of colonies, welfare associations, basti committees, and sports clubs, is all set to play a decisive role in the November 11 byelection.
The forum, which has members in 300 colonies across the constituency, said it would decide on backing a candidate only after being convinced through a 'town hall'-type meeting. For the meeting, styled after US elections, the forum is gearing up to invite key candidates in the race.
The forum, which remains apolitical, had invited both Maganti Gopinath and Mohammed Azharuddin separately during the 2023 Assembly elections, was convinced by the arguments presented by Gopinath, and subsequently backed him.
"Ahead of the by-election, the forum plans to convene a meeting of all colony associations and welfare committees to arrive at a collective decision on whom to support, based purely on the candidate's performance and integrity. From next week, we plan to invite Maganti Sunitha and Naveen Yadav, and if possible, also BJP candidate Deepak Reddy, to ask what kind of development they would bring and how they plan to resolve civic issues," said Asif Hussain Sohail, president of the Jubilee Hills Constituency Colonies Forum.
In the US, candidates responding to public questions in an open setting is commonly known as a town hall meeting. This format allows candidates to interact directly with voters by answering questions from a live audience. During such meetings, the candidate's ability to connect with individual voters is on display rather than strict debate tactics. The conversation is primarily driven by the concerns of the citizens in attendance.
"This would have provided a direct, structured comparison between the top two candidates on policy issues and their vision for the future. But at this juncture, we are more focused on the town hall model. Maybe we will consider a direct debate next time," Sohail said.
Civic issues and development remain the key criteria for electing the candidate. Residents recall that in the previous Assembly election, they had unanimously supported the late Maganti Gopinath, who was admired for his clean image and visible development efforts.
"In the past 12 years, several development works were completed under Gopinath's leadership, and his integrity was never questioned," said P. Kalyan Kumar, a techie from Shaikpet. However, some residents now express mixed opinions about the current political atmosphere.
"Naveen is a good person and a local, but residents are uneasy with the Congress' approach to development," said Abdul Khaliq, a businessman from Yousufguda.