Telangana voters reject turncoats in Lok Sabha elections

Kadiyam Kavya, who moved from BRS to Congress, won in Warangal. Godem Nagesh, who switched from BSP to BJP, emerged victorious in Adilabad.

Hyderabad: The recent Lok Sabha elections in Telangana sent a clear message: voters are not pleased with politicians who switch parties.

Except for Kadiyam Kavya from Warangal and Godam Nagesh from Adilabad, all other candidates who changed their political affiliations before the elections faced defeat.

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Kadiyam Kavya, who moved from BRS to Congress, won in Warangal. Godem Nagesh, who switched from BSP to BJP, emerged victorious in Adilabad. Their wins are the exceptions in a trend where most turncoats faced rejection.

BB Patil, incumbent Zaheerabad MP from BRS, lost after contesting on a BJP ticket. Similarly, Aroori Ramesh, who left BRS for BJP, was defeated in Warangal. Danam Nagender, who shifted from BRS to Congress and contested from Secunderabad, also lost. His fate as the sitting MLA from Khairatabad remains uncertain.

G Ranjith Reddy, previously a BRS MP from Chevella, ran again from the same seat under Congress but failed to secure a win. P Ramulu, who had represented BRS in Nagarkurnool, joined BJP before this election, only to see his son Bharat lose in the same constituency for BJP.

Similarly, Rangareddy Zilla Parishad Chairperson P Suneeta Mahender Reddy left BRS and ran for Congress in Malkajgiri but lost. Other notable defeats include Gomasa Srinivas (Congress to BJP in Peddapally), Sitharam Naik (BRS to BJP in Mahabubabad), and Neelam Madhu (BSP to Congress in Medak).

The electorate seem to have preferred new faces over the incumbents. Only four sitting MPs – G Kishan Reddy, D Arvind and Bandi Sanjay from BJP along with Asaduddin Owaisi from AIMIM, managed to retain their seats. Among the rest of the winners, five are former MPs and two are former Ministers. At least three winners – Kadiyam Kavya, K Raghuveer Reddy and Gaddam Vamsi Krishna, all from the Congress, are first time contestants in any elections.