Pharmacity farmers’ election bid rejected in Jubilee Hills bypoll
HYDERABAD: Farmers fighting the proposed Pharmacity project threw their hats into the ring for the Jubilee Hills bypoll, only to see their nominations swiftly dismissed. The by-election has become a stage for dramatic protest, with a chorus of discontented voices, unemployed youth, victims of the Regional Ring Road, and opponents of Pharma City, vying for attention. Among them, ten determined farmers from Yacharam Mandal sought to make their grievances heard across Telangana. Their efforts, they allege, were deliberately and conspiratorially thwarted.
The Movement Against Pharma City, led by activist Saraswati Kavula, alleged that obstructions led to the rejection of all farmers candidates nominations, citing issues such as “blanks” in their affidavits.
Kavula added that the previous BRS government forcibly acquired thousands of acres for Pharmacity. Since then, Yacharam Mandal farmers have opposed what they describe as hazardous development and reckless land acquisition.
In 2023, the Congress Party pledged in its manifesto to cancel Pharmacity and protect farmers’ lands if elected. However, the party later submitted an affidavit to the High Court in support of the establishment of Pharmacity. Farmers allege that the government is now using police authority to compel them to surrender their land.
Mutyala Sai Reddy, a farmer from Nanakramguda, filed a formal complaint with the Chief Election Commissioner of India, alleging that the Returning Officer applied scrutiny norms in a discriminatory and inconsistent manner.
According to the complaint, Reddy submitted his nomination as an independent candidate on October 21. On October 23, he was informed that his nomination was rejected due to “blanks in the affidavit.”
In his letter to the ECI, Reddy disputed the rejection, stating, “There were no actual blanks in my affidavit.” He explained that a formatting issue had caused the text to continue onto the next page, making the fields appear incomplete. “The content was filled in,” he argued, adding that this does not constitute valid grounds for rejection under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Reddy claims that affidavits from some major party candidates with similar or larger blanks were accepted without issue. He argues that this demonstrates bias and undermines the principle of a level playing field, stating, “This shows a clear instance of discriminatory and inconsistent application of scrutiny norms by the Returning Officer.”
Farmer vs. The System
Saraswati Kavula explained that the farmers decided to contest the election due to what they describe as a “betrayal” by the Congress party. “The Congress party, which in its 2023 election manifesto promised to cancel Pharma City, betrayed those promises after coming to power,” said Saraswati Kavula. She stated that contesting the by-election was a strategic effort to highlight this reversal to the public.
The farmers allege that obstruction began before the nomination scrutiny process. They claim that between October 15 and 19, the Ibrahimpatnam RDO office withheld certified electoral rolls for four days, prompting them to stage a sit-in. The farmers received the documents at 7:30 PM on October 19 and submitted their nominations two days later.
They also claim they faced intimidation, with Special Branch police reportedly questioning them after news of their candidacy became public. Despite this, the farmers submitted their nominations on October 21 and led a rally that attracted media attention.
Following these setbacks, the group filed formal complaints with the General Observer and the Chief Election Commissioner in New Delhi. In their press release, they questioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s commitment to constitutional rights and criticized his silence as the party’s government allegedly restricts citizens’ freedoms.
Pharmacity farmers are now organizing a Round Table Conference to highlight the challenges related to Pharmacity and forced land acquisition.
