HYDERABAD: Quitting a well-paying MNC job after 15 years, a software engineer has made a political debut by winning a gram panchayat ward member post with over 75% of the votes in Sangareddy district and becoming the upa sarpanch.Praveen Kumar Jogannagari, a Congress-backed candidate who resigned as a manager at Cognizant, contested the first phase of gram panchayat elections from Malkapur village in Kondapur mandal. He also backed Mamidepally Anil Kumar, who went on to win as the sarpanch.“It was during the Covid-19 pandemic that my interest in politics deepened. Working from home for nearly four years gave me time to engage with people in my village and help them,” Kumar told TOI. “About four months ago, I resigned to contest as sarpanch, but since the seat was reserved for SC, I contested as a ward member instead.”An alumnus of Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology (CBIT), Kumar made extensive use of technology to reach voters, a move that paid rich dividends. “Malkapur has a mix of urban and rural population. Even those distributing voter slips don’t always know where voters live. I collected phone numbers of all 5,068 voters and personally called each one,” said the 37-year-old upa sarpanch. His campaign also included social media outreach, digital manifesto sharing and IVRS calls.With Malkapur located close to Hyderabad, Kumar said unplanned urbanisation has thrown up several challenges. “Many layouts were approved by the gram panchayat, but parks and roads are now being encroached upon. Water scarcity has also become a serious issue with the rising population. Addressing these problems, along with the sarpanch, will be my immediate priority,” he said.Kumar said he does not miss his corporate role and is fully focused on public service. “My goal is to ensure that villagers’ issues are resolved effectively,” he said, adding that he hopes to contest as sarpanch in the next elections and carry forward the legacy of his parents, both of whom served as sarpanches earlier.
