Hyderabad:

Kompella Madhavi Latha, BJP’s firebrand candidate from Hyderabad, faces a police case after a video showed her asking burqa-clad Muslim women at a polling booth to reveal their faces so that she can match them with the photographs on their voter ID cards. 

The case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Representation of the People Act. The Hyderabad Collector’s office has confirmed in a post on X that a case against the BJP candidate has been registered in Malakpet Police Station.

Ms Madhavi Latha is among the most-talked-about candidates in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls that is underway today. She is up against a formidable candidate — four-time MP from Hyderabad and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

#WATCH | Telangana: BJP candidate from Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency, Madhavi Latha visits a polling booth in the constituency. Voting for the fourth phase of #LokSabhaElections2024 is underway. pic.twitter.com/BlsQXRn80C

— ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2024

District Election Officer Ronald Ross earlier told NDTV that police will be registering an FIR against Ms Madhavi Latha because no candidate has the right to lift someone’s veil to check her identity. If there is a suspicion, a candidate can ask the polling officer to verify a voter’s identity, he said.

The BJP candidate, however, has told news agency ANI that a candidate has the right to check voter ID cards. “I am a candidate. As per law, a candidate has the right to check ID cards without facemasks. I am not a man, I am a woman and with a lot of humility, I requested them. If somebody wants to make a big issue out of it, it means they are scared,” she said.

Mr Owaisi has not commented on the incident yet, but shared the viral video on his Twitter timeline.

The BJP candidate has alleged discrepancies in voters’ list. “The police personnel seem very dull, they are not active. They are not checking anything. Senior citizen voters are coming here, but their names have been deleted from the list,” she told ANI.

The viral videos are playing out against the backdrop of a polarised contest in Hyderabad, a Muslim-dominated seat and a family stronghold of Asaduddin Owaisi. In the run-up to the election, Ms Madhavi Latha had said she was hopeful of the support of Muslim voters too because the BJP has spoken about triple talaq and jobs for Muslim youngsters. The viral videos and the row surrounding them are likely to hit her outreach to minority voters.

Hyderabad:

BJP’s candidate for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, Kompella Madhavi Latha owns family assets of Rs 221.37 crore, making her one of the richest candidates in Telangana.

She, her husband Kompella Viswanath, both business persons, and their three dependent children, have movable assets of Rs 165.46 crore and the couple has immovable assets of Rs.55.91 crore.

Madhavi Latha revealed details of the family assets in an affidavit submitted to the Election Commission on Wednesday while filing her nomination. The 49-year-old, who resides in the twin city of Secunderabad, recently joined the BJP and is making her electoral debut.

She declared that she has movable assets of Rs 31.31 crore including investment of Rs.25.20 crore in listed and unlisted companies. She has investments of Rs 7.80 crore in Virinchi Ltd. She also owns gold jewellery worth Rs 3.78 crore.

Her husband has movable assets of Rs 88.31 crore including shares worth Rs 52.36 crore in Virinchi Ltd. Their three dependent children also own total movable assets of over Rs 45 crore.

The BJP candidate also owns immovable assets of Rs 6.32 crore while the value of her husband’s immovable assets is Rs 49.59 crore.

The assets include non-agriculture land and commercial and residential buildings in and around Hyderabad.

Madhavi Latha has liabilities of Rs 90 lakh while her husband’s liabilities stand at Rs 26.13 crore. Her income during 2022-23 was Rs 3.76 lakh while it was Rs 1.22 crore during 2021-22.

Viswanath’s income during 2022-23 was Rs 2.82 crore while the same was Rs 6.86 crore during 2021-22.

The BJP candidate faces one criminal case. The case was registered against her last week at Begum Bazar Police Station under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 295-A. The allegation against her is that she made a gesture of drawing an imaginary arrow and shooting at the Masjid located at the circle of Siddi Amber Bazar.

–IANS

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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)