Emerging seemingly out of nowhere onto Hyderabad’s political landscape, BJP’s wild card Madhavi Latha has shown a history of sexist, Islamophobic remarks that have gone unchecked in mainstream media.
The most prominent face of BJP’s campaign in Telangana is Madhavi Latha, a first time candidate fielded in Hyderabad against AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi. As we were waiting for her rally in Hyderabad’s Adarsh Nagar, tea vendors – both from the Muslim and Hindu communities – remarked that they had only heard of her recently through the media. BJP members in the area sheepishly admitted that till a few months ago she was not even a member of the BJP.
She shot to national fame recently when she was seen on camera purportedly shooting an imaginary arrow at a mosque while campaigning in the Muslim-dominated Old City area of Hyderabad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also gave her a shout-out on social media just before the incident.
Even before her candidacy was announced, for months Madhavi Latha appeared on small-time YouTube channels, dressed in a ‘madi cheera’ (the way Brahmin women drape a saree), with vermilion and sometimes ash smeared prominently on her forehead. She would sermonise about how women should live their lives and how Hindus must safeguard their dharma, while making deeply misogynistic, Islamophobic remarks that almost always went unchallenged.
Madhavi Latha grew up in the Santosh Nagar locality of Yakutpura constituency. She has a Masters degree in political science. Apart from running a couple of non-profits, Madhavi Latha is also the Managing Director of Virinchi Hospitals, founded by her husband Vishwanath. The hospital’s Covid treatment licence was revoked for overcharging patients during the pandemic.
This story was originally published in thenewsminute.com. Read the full story here.
