Jubilee Hills bypoll: BRS confident, Congress yet to finalise its candidate
The Jubilee Hills by-election, necessitated by the death of MLA Maganti Gopinath, is shaping up as a prestige contest. BRS is set to field his wife, Maganti Sunitha, while Congress eyes a BC candidate and BJP explores limited options.
Hyderabad: The upcoming Jubilee Hills by-election, expected to be held next month, is fast turning into a prestige battle.
While the BRS has already commenced its ground level preparations and is on the verge of finalising its candidate to retain its seat, the ruling Congress also has began pulling all strings to make a foray into the BRS’ urban stronghold and make its presence felt in the State capital.
The by-election became inevitable following the demise of sitting BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath in June. His demise has set the stage for an intense contest between BRS and Congress, while BJP too is keen to have a piece of its pie.
The BRS has already emerged as the frontrunner, having switched its cadre into election mode. Division-level in-charges have been appointed, surveys conducted, and preparatory meetings launched. Party sources confirm that Gopinath’s wife, Maganti Sunitha, is the leading contender for the BRS ticket. She has been introduced to the cadre by BRS working president KT Rama Rao at a recent party meeting, stating that Gopinath has contributed his might to the party and his constituency, and it was payback time, by standing with his family.
With recent surveys strengthening its expectations, the BRS is confident that people will support the party’s candidate once again.
In line with this, Sunitha’s daughters, Akshara and Dishira, have already begun door-to-door campaigning in Rahamat Nagar, personally appealing for votes. Senior BRS leaders, including Talasani Srinivas Yadav, have indicated that Sunitha’s candidature is almost final, with an official announcement expected soon from party chief K Chandrashekhar Rao.
With six divisions under Jubilee Hills, the BRS has carefully appointed senior leaders as in-charges including Takkellapalli Ravinder Rao (Rahamat Nagar), Pochampalli Srinivas Reddy (Yusufguda), KP Vivekananda (Borabanda), Dasoju Sravan (Shaikpet), Sudheer Reddy (Vengalrao Nagar), and Madhavaram Krishna Rao (Erragadda), to ensure coordinated efforts. The BRS working president Rama Rao too is overseeing the preparations, giving the party a head start.
On the Congress front, the party is said to be planning to field a BC leader with strong local roots. Ministers Tummala Nageswara Rao, Ponnam Prabhakar, and G Vivek Venkataswamy, have been tasked with the bypoll responsibilities. However, the party is yet to finalise a candidate. The BJP is weighing multiple options, including former Governor Bandaru Dattatreya’s daughter Vijayalakshmi and leader Lankala Deepak Reddy, but has little scope to give a tough fight.
The Election Commission is expected to issue the notification for the Jubilee Hills by-election by the end of this month, synchronising it with the Bihar Assembly election schedule. With the final voter list due for release in the third week of September, officials indicated that the polling could be held around Diwali. The results are likely to be declared in the first week of November.
Advantage BRS
– Of four elections held in Jubilee Hills constituency since 2009, Maganti Gopinath won thrice and P Vishnuvardhan Reddy (then Congress) won once.
– Gopinath kept increasing his majority over three elections.
– He secured majority of 9,242 votes (TDP) in 2014, 16,004 votes (BRS) in 2018 and 16,337 votes (BRS) in 2023 polls.
– BRS has strong presence, while Congress lost both its candidates from previous elections – P Vishnuvardhan Reddy to BRS and Lankala Deepak Reddy to BJP.
– BJP struggling to gain foothold.
