With less than 10% women among the Congress legislators and no women representing the City constituencies in the Assembly, there are rumors that M Sunitha Mudiraj, the State Mahila wing president and a well-known protest activist, will be given a seat in the Legislative Council. Mudiraj has been involved in activism and protests in Hyderabad against the ruling parties for almost four decades. She has led 240 dharnas and currently has 20 non-bailable warrants against her for her activism since 1987.
Party sources have stated that Mudiraj, who represents one of the largest and influential castes in Telangana, is an important women leader in the state. Due to her services to the party, she was given a ticket to contest from Goshamahal in the Assembly elections. Although she didn’t win, she was able to gather over 6,000 votes against MLA T Raja Singh. Mudiraj has been fighting for women’s rights both inside and outside the courts and previously served as the City Mahila Congress committee president in 2006.
Mudiraj expressed her hope that the party will consider her for an MLC (Member of Legislative Council) position or at least a nominated post heading women’s bodies. She believes that despite the lack of support from the party, she was able to re-energize the Goshamahal constituency through door-to-door campaigns in 2019.
