New Delhi: In a significant development ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Central government has sanctioned 'Y+' category security cover administered by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for Madhavi Latha, the BJP candidate vying for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat.
Sources reveal that the CRPF security arrangement is exclusively provided to the BJP leader for Telangana.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) provided the security cover considering threat inputs received against Latha, who is contesting against All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen's (AIMIM) four-time member of parliament, Asaduddin Owaisi.
This move comes amidst heightened political tensions and concerns for the safety of candidates, particularly in constituencies with a history of electoral volatility.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday praised Latha, who was not known much in political circles until March 2 when her name featured in the BJP's candidate list for the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
Latha, 49, is contesting from Hyderabad seat from where the Owaisi family has been representing for about four decades.
Prior to Asaduddin Owaisi, who won the seat for the first time in 2004, Hyderabad was represented in the Lok Sabha by his father, Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, from 1984. Apart from the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, all assembly seats in Hyderabad, except Goshamahal, are held by the AIMIM.
Latha, a cultural activist, holds a Bachelor's degree in Public Administration from Nizam College and a Master's degree in Political Science from Osmania University.
She was actively involved in the campaign against instant triple talaq, which was criminalized by Parliament in 2019. Her candidature is significant given Owaisi's opposition to the law, which he deemed as an assault on Muslim identity and citizenship.
Beyond her activism, Latha is an entrepreneur, an NCC cadet, and a professional Bharatanatyam dancer. She serves as the chairperson of Hyderabad-based Virinchi Hospitals, viewing her candidature as a recognition of her extensive charity work spanning nearly two decades.
In response to Owaisi's claims of receiving death threats, Latha mocked him, questioning the credibility of his friendships and highlighting his contradictory statements regarding his perceived stronghold in Hyderabad.
Earlier, Owaisi reported receiving threats on social media after his meeting with the family of deceased gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who passed away from cardiac arrest on March 28.
