At 11.05 a.m. on November 12, when the Election Commission opened for nominations, Cholleti Prabhakar, a retired IAS officer, was the first one to file nomination papers in the State.
Probably also the first retired bureaucrat to contest elections here, Mr. Prabhakar decided to go independently, after his confidence – largely in the Constitution, was mocked by several parties.
“I can name the parties who requested for my bio-data, and in the second round asked if I would contribute ₹3 crore. I said no.”
An AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre officer of the 1984 batch, who served as Election Observer 12 times in his career, Mr. Prabhakar says, while suppressing voters’ freedom with money and muscle power is unconstitutional, it also promotes dynastic politics by defeating representation from other social groups.
“In the 14 terms till 2014 in Nalgonda, excluding the first Perika Lakshmaiah in 1952 and Bommagani Dharma Bhiksham in 1972, all MLAs have been from one dominant community which is population-wise 12, 000 in number,” he explains.
But a declining graph of votes polled and the majority won, over the terms, by four-time Congress MLA here, shows people are responsive.
“I want to prove leaders like Jignesh Mevani, Vadgam MLA in Gujarat, who fought by constitutional values, are possible here too,” he adds, stressing the need for voter awareness and leaders from all sections.
After retiring as Special Secretary in the Government of Telangana in 2016, Mr. Prabhakar through his initiative Democratic Forum, has been educating young voters in colleges across the district.
Carrying the slogan, “People’s strength is in votes not crores, vote is the only weapon to defeat crores,” he has completed a round of campaigns in Kanagal, Thipparthy and 40 wards in the town that has about 1. 4 lakh voters.
His electoral symbol choice Tiragali – a traditional millstone, Mr. Prabhakar says conveys a message: a livelihood-provider, an indicator of human development, and a crusher of injustice.
