Pocharam breaks jinx, gets re-elected after serving as Speaker

Traditionally in the past, Assembly Speakers who sought reelection have faced defeat, creating an unwritten convention that seemed unbreakable

Hyderabad: Breaking the jinx, Telangana Assembly Speaker Parige Srinivas Reddy, popular known as Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, recorded a victory in Banswada constituency during the 2023 Assembly elections. He secured a comfortable victory with a majority of 23,464 votes against his immediate rival Congress candidate E Ravinder Reddy.

Traditionally in the past, Assembly Speakers who sought reelection have faced defeat, creating an unwritten convention that seemed unbreakable. Telangana State Assembly Speaker S Madhusudanachari, along with the Assembly Speakers of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh – Nadendla Manohar, N Kiran Kumar Reddy, KR Suresh Reddy, Pratibha Bharti and others, all experienced setbacks in the immediate next elections after serving as Speakers.

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This trend had created a reluctance among MLAs to assume the role of Speaker when the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) assumed power in 2018. However, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao persuaded Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, a former Agriculture Minister, to take on the responsibility. His second consecutive win has now broken the Speaker’s jinx.