Girls see me as an advocate of their cause in Parliament: Sowmya Reddy

"Voters are being fooled by Modi's false promises and are being collectively taken into a delusional world. Don’t be under the illusion that everyone is leaning towards the BJP, all that will be answered on June 4th,” said Sowmya Reddy emphatically, in an exclusive interview with The Federal-Karnataka.

Sowmya Reddy, who has studied in the New York Institute of Technology, is the daughter of senior minister Ramalinga Reddy. She is the current general secretary of the All India Mahila Congress and has experience as an MLA, having represented Jayanagar assembly constituency from 2018 to 2023.

After some high drama, she lost the state assembly polls in 2023 by a very narrow margin.

Pointing out that she had almost won the elections, Sowmya said that the counting of rejected votes led to her defeat. That dispute has now reached the court, she said, adding that she can't talk much about it.

“But, even if I win in court, I will retain the Lok Sabha membership. I have to raise the issues of Karnataka in the Lok Sabha. Justice should be given to Kannadigas. I want to protest against the Centre's stand against Karnataka. So my choice is the Lok Sabha," she admitted.

Further, if she is blessed by the voters of Bengaluru South Constituency, she will create a record in two ways, she told reporters.

The first will be to end the BJP's dominance of the constituency for the ninth time and secondly, she will become the first woman MP to represent the Bengaluru South constituency.

“In the 17 Lok Sabha elections held in the last 73 years in this constituency, not a single woman candidate has been elected. A change is needed now. It will happen,” she added.

Sowmya Reddy's house at Lakkasandra has been turned into an ‘election war room’ for the past few days. In an outer room, Sowmya's father, state transport minister Ramalinga Reddy, is meeting senior party workers and discussing election strategies, while the hallway has been converted into a small studio. All modern facilities are available there for all those who visit her.

The Federal Karnataka caught up with Sowmya at her Lakkasandra residence. Fatigue was writ large over her face and apologising for making us wait, she quickly gulped down water, and sat down to answer our questions:

Excerpts from the interview:

What’s the reason for deciding to contest from Bengaluru South, which is considered to be BJP's stronghold?

The Jayanagar constituency that I represent also falls under this Lok Sabha constituency and since the candidate representing this constituency sat in Delhi and ignored the needs of the people here, it became necessary for me to step in.

I wanted to contest from here to get justice for the people of the assembly constituencies that come under this Lok Sabha constituency and to respond to their difficulties. The present MP has not raised his voice for the state, neither has he responded to the hardships of the state. He has not raised the issue of Karnataka getting its fair share in tax money, which threatens Union-state relations. He only did things that created a rift between communities. So, the entire constituency is looking at me now.

Besides, the party has put faith in me. The representatives of the five assembly constituencies are from the Congress. They told me not to worry telling me this is not just my fight. They are working as candidates, as they view this election as “our” struggle. Their faith has strengthened me so much that my enthusiasm doubled. I believe that I will win and get justice for the people of the constituency and the people of Karnataka.

Do you think Congress's guarantees will have the impact you expect this election?

Why not? The number of girls working in garment industries in Bengaluru and in other areas is increasing daily. Their salary is only ten thousand rupees. Out of which, they had to pay ₹1,500 for the bus pass. Now, this money is saved and used for children's education. Shouldn't girls be self-sufficient? Should they reach out to someone else for money? Women's empowerment is not just a matter of rhetoric, it is a reality today.

In a sense, all the Congress guarantees are empowering women. The BJP doesn’t want this because they don’t want women to become self-sufficient. I believe the girls see me as an advocate of their cause in Parliament. I believe I can do that.

What can the voters of Bengaluru South Constituency expect from you if you become an MP?

If I become an MP, I will work with the entire city of Bengaluru. I am environmentally-conscious. No one talks about the impact of traffic congestion on the health of the citizens. So, I will try to explore and implement transport measures to reduce this congestion.

If I am elected as an MP, I have prepared a green map of the projects to be implemented in Bengaluru South Constituency. I will prove that Bengaluru is a garden city, I am committed to build a green Bengaluru.

I will try to reduce the problem of drinking water in Bengaluru. All this requires the help of the central government. For that, I will not hesitate to raise questions in Parliament and ask for Karnataka's fair share.

Usually, elected MPs face an anti-incumbency wave. Do you think that applies to your opponent?

People know about the way the MP of this constituency behaved during COVID, the lies they said in the report card he released.

In the Guru Raghavendra Cooperative Society case, we asked for it to be handed over to the CBI. But the then ruling BJP government in the state did not. After our Congress government came, it was handed over to the CBI. But even after three months there is no action from CBI.

Who is the central government protecting? Whose interests are the MPs protecting? Depositors are losing money and crying. There is also the story of the depositors of Kanwa Souharda Cooperative Society and Sri Vasishtha Credit Cooperative Society. There is no investigation. So, many depositors are in distress. I do not believe that people will forgive all such things.

This interview was originally published in The Federal-Karnataka.