'Raja Singh Humara Aadmi Hai': Goshamahal High on Sentiment, Low on Development

Video editor: Abhishek Sharma

The Goshamahal Assembly constituency, located in Hyderabad's Old City, is known for many things – its idol makers, artists, and kitemakers. But what it is most known for is its MLA, T Raja Singh, notorious for spreading Islamophobia and making hate speeches.

"This election is life and death for me. I am not afraid to die nor am I afraid to kill. Think before you become a traitor. My enmity might cost you," the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader had said earlier this month during a rally in the constituency, after which he was booked for hate speech by the Manghalhat Police in Hyderabad.

Known locally as 'Raja bhaiyya', Singh has been in power in Goshamahal for 10 years now and is contesting on a BJP ticket for a third time, with the party revoking his suspension recently, after he made derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad last year.

But how is it that he has managed to drum up support in this constituency, which is one of the seven Assembly constituencies that make up the Hyderabad Parliamentary seat – which, otherwise, is an All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) bastion?

'A Matter of Hindu Dharma'

One of the factors is that Lodh Rajputs, the community that Singh belongs to, is one of the dominant communities in the Goshamahal Assembly segment, which includes areas like Dhoolpet, Afzal Gunj, Sultan Bazar, and Moazzam Jahi Market.

These areas have a considerable migrant population from the north, especially Hindus, and they comprise Hindi, Marathi, and Marwari speakers.

"Raja Singh is from our caste, he is our man. So, we will only vote for him, we will only make him win. Whoever comes, we will only vote for him," 38-year-old Ritesh Singh, an artist, tells The Quint.

Seventy-three-year-old Inder Singh, a resident of Dhoolpet, concurs, saying: "This is a matter of our caste, this is a matter of our Hindu dharma. The priority is Hindu dharma. Whoever is Hindu, we will go with them."

Most people in Dhoolpet make a livelihood by making idols and bangles and selling kites. Dhoolpet was also once notorious for the sale of gudumba or illicit liquor, which the Telangana government "put an end to" over the last few years.

'No Development Here, but...'

Even as sentiments of Hindu pride run high in Goshamahal, development has been slow in the area.

When The Quint asked residents about progress in the constituency, they pointed to the 52-foot-tall Hanuman temple up a hillock in Akashpuri, which was inaugurated last year with much fanfare.

Speaking to The Quint, 38-year-old Sapna says: "The BJP saab has done well. Here, nothing has been done. But they have done well outside ... like the Ayodhya temple."

Sixty-year-old Kanta Prasad Tiwari, who is the priest at the Hanuman temple, opines that development in Goshamahal was hindered because "Raja Singh is an MLA from the Opposition."

"An MLA doesn't have enough budget to make everyone happy. Even the prime minister can't make everyone happy. That's why governments come and go. As for his religion, he has done work, he has got things done."

Ritesh Singh, meanwhile, adds, "He [Raja Singh] made the Akashpuri Hanuman temple, and made this a tourist destination. Maybe not today, but in the future, it will bring employment. MLA Raja Singh is at an international level right now. Because of him, Dhoolpet is also becoming famous."

Forty-five-year-old Mahabir Singh, however, attributes the lack of tourists in Goshamahal to small roads. "There's been no development because of the small roads ... How will buses come? When a master plan is ready, tourists will also come."

'He Will Get Nothing From Us'

As one walks past the narrow road that leads to the Hanuman temple, they would reach Natraj Nagar, a Muslim locality in Dhoolpet. Muslims are a minority in Goshamahal constituency – and have been subjected to a number of Raja Singh rallies and yatras over the past 10 years, wherein he has openly targeted their community.

The ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has fielded Nand Kishore Vyas (Nandu Bilal) as its candidate, a Sikhwal Brahmin from the Marwari community. The Congress candidate is Sunitha Rao.

Fifty-one-year-old Mohammed Yasin, who runs a clothing shop in Natraj Nagar, says, "We want development, nothing else. There's a lot of poverty, a lot of difficulty here. We want the BRS party here. It's important that the BRS comes to power in Goshamahal. He [Raja Singh] is making all sorts of big talk – about Muslims."

"We will vote for Nandu Bilal, God willing. The other side is saying a lot of things, but they will get nothing from us. He [Raja Singh] has not done anything for our basti. Besides, he keeps making derogatory remarks against us," says Mohammed Afroz, 27, who runs a meat shop.

"He [Raja Singh] will get nothing from us; if we vote, it will be for the BRS. He has done nothing, he doesn't even visit us," he adds.