Hyderabad
The Jubilee Hills constituency in the heart of Telangana’s capital is set for a tense by-election showdown, with the ruling Congress and opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) pulling out all the stops to secure a crucial political win.
The bypoll, necessitated by the death of sitting MLA Maganti Gopinath of BRS, has turned into a prestige contest between Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao (KTR).
While the result will not directly alter the Congress government’s stability—given its comfortable majority—it carries immense political significance. For Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, a victory is crucial to consolidate his leadership and silence critics within his own party. Conversely, a BRS win could revive the party’s morale and signal a comeback after its dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress has fielded Naveen Yadav, with the Chief Minister and his entire Cabinet actively campaigning in the constituency. The BRS, meanwhile, is banking on sympathy votes by nominating Maganti Sunitha, wife of the late MLA Gopinath.
Adding to the intensity, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is making an aggressive bid to break the Congress-BRS duopoly. Led by Union Minister and Hyderabad MP G. Kishan Reddy, the BJP campaign saw active participation from Union Minister of State Bandi Sanjay Kumar, state party chief Ramchander Rao, and several MPs and MLAs.
The stakes are high for all three parties. For Congress, it is a battle to affirm its dominance; for BRS, an opportunity to reclaim lost ground; and for BJP, a chance to expand its urban base in Hyderabad’s political heartland. The outcome will likely set the tone for Telangana’s upcoming local body elections.