Praja Rajyam

HYDERABAD: Praja Rajyam came into being promising a ‘change’. Whatever might have happened in other places, the party seems to have kept its word at least with regard to selection of candidate for the Secunderabad Parliamentary constituency.

True, Dasoju Sravan Kumar fulfils the social justice criteria yet he also comes with impressive credentials. He is not only a doctorate but has chucked away a lucrative corporate job to plunge into politics.

“Despite my modest family background I had this burning desire to do social service. My party has unleashed a potential revolution in giving tickets to people like me,” says bespectacled Mr. Kumar.

He strongly feels that the electorate is ready to accept young, articulate and educated representatives like him.

While electoral politics are new to him, he was pretty active as a student leader in the Osmania University’s College of Arts & Social Sciences in the late 80s. “OU is a temple not only for me but scores of students hailing from remote places in Telangana.”

After his MBA, he worked in the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) as a project associate and as a faculty member of Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE) on completing his doctorate in Human Relations and Organisational Psychology.

“Both organisations sharpened my professional skills and develop a holistic approach as I interacted with both corporate heads and those active in social sector.” His corporate stint was with Sierra Atlantic and Satyam where he could put his “theories into practice”.

Course of events

Interaction with Pawan Kalyan through a common friend to develop a movie subject on student politics steered the course of his life into a new pasture. Incidentally, he produced a movie ‘Kubusum’ and also enacted the role of a naxalite leader.

“I was scared initially when Pawan Kalyan and Chiranjeevi invited me to join PR,” he recalls.

Originally involved in organisational set up, he was “mentally prepared” to contest when the offer came.

Improving civic amenities in slums (“one-third people live in them”) and traffic management (“public transport like metro is necessary”) are his chief campaign issues.

“I have a strong intuitive feeling that I will win because one of my opponents is too old and ought to retire while the other has not opened his mouth even once in the Parliament. I request people to give me one opportunity,” he appeals.