HYDERABAD: BJP vice-president D.K. Aruna is likely to find a berth in the Union Cabinet. As a prominent political figure in the state, the BJP feels that she can strongly counter the Congress government in Telangana at the national stage.
Hailing from a political family, the BJP’s MP-elect from Mahbubnagar had once taken former chief minist
Aruna’s family has maintained a strong bond with people over the decades. Her father Chitlem Narasi Reddy and brothers were strong leaders in Narayanpet area. She married into a family of politicians in Gadwal.
Dharmavaram and Kottam – two small villages in Mahbubnagar, near Kurnool — stand for the 'DK', which is the family name. Her family has held on to the Gadwal seat for generations, except a few times. Aruna herself won Gadwal seat twice with the Congress and served as minister between 2009 and 2014.
After joining the BJP in March 2019, she quickly rose in the ranks and at one stage was tipped to be the state party chief. Months later, she contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Mahbubnagar and lost. She was appointed as BJP vice-president in September 2020.
In a tough fight in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, Aruna defeated Vamshi Chand Reddy of the Congress. Her family’s connections at gross root level and her assurance to voters to focus on local development with central funds, helped her romp home. Even after the Congress utilised all the machinery to defeat her, Aruna won the Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha seat where all the seven Assembly segments are with the Congress.
She participated in an agitation after the power bills had steeply increased during the previous Chandrababu Naidu government in undivided AP. She also did Pada Yatra from Gadwal to the state capital to highlight the water problems in her region and highlighted mass migration of `Palamuru workers’ to other states.
Aruna went on an indefinite hunger strike seeking irrigation water and implementation of Palamuru-RangaReddy lift irrig
