For someone who is an auto driver with limited financial resources and many mouths to feed, politics usually comes last in the priority list. 51-year-old auto driver, A. Sathi Reddy too is no different. For him, the day starts and ends with the struggles that roughly two lakh auto drivers confront daily in Hyderabad.
“Political parties and successive MLAs and MPs have left us with no option. Someone has to stand up and voice the grievances of auto drivers, who form the backbone of transportation, but are never acknowledged. It’s a tough life for us but our elective representatives offer nothing more than lip service,” he says, sitting in his auto at Padmaraonagar.
This is the third time in a row that Sathi Reddy has filed his nominations from Secunderabad assembly segment as an independent. So what makes an auto driver tick in politics? “I am here to put up a fight. Along with my friends, we will campaign in autos to reach out to as many auto driver families as possible,” he says.
According to Sathi Reddy, roughly there are 15,000 to 20,000 auto drivers in Secunderabad.
“This is leaving out workmen, mechanics and helpers etc., linked to the sector. I am reaching out to them and their families. Like in any sector, we too have black sheep, who have brought a bad name to our profession. But, nobody talks about welfare measures for auto drivers,” he laments.
The auto driver has some tough words for election officials too. “They have increased the caution deposit from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 10,000 from this year and for Lok Sabha the deposit of Rs. 25,000. This is exclusionary. How do they expect people like us to even afford such kind of money,” he asks.
How confident is he to make an impact in elections? “I am giving my best shot and confident that I will make it tough for established parties,” he says, before heading to catch the next customer.
