Parties prepare for Jubilee Hills bypoll

HYDERABAD: The upcoming by-election in Jubilee Hills assembly constituency has drawn focused attention from major political parties. The Election Commission of India is expected to release the schedule in the first or second week of October, with the final voters’ list to be published on September 30.

The bypoll was necessitated following the sudden death of Jubilee Hills MLA Maganti Gopinath. With signals from the poll panel indicating an early election, parties have already deployed leaders and cadres in the constituency. This will be the second election in Telangana after the 2023 assembly polls, and the second consecutive one in the Greater Hyderabad limits.

Earlier, a by-election was held in Secunderabad Cantonment after BRS MLA Lasya Nanditha died in a road accident. While Congress had failed to win any seat in the Greater Hyderabad area during the assembly polls, it won the Cantonment bypoll and is now aiming to repeat the performance in Jubilee Hills.

Congress strategy

Congress has appointed district in-charge minister Ponnam Prabhakar, agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, and labour minister Gaddam Vivek to oversee the election. Party MLAs and other senior leaders have also been involved in planning.

BRS plan

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has assigned responsibilities division-wise to MLAs and MLCs. One corporator or former corporator has been tasked with every five booths. Party working president K T Rama Rao has already indicated that Maganti Sujatha, wife of the late MLA, will contest. She has been attending condolence meetings in colonies and bastis, while Gopinath’s children are also visiting localities.

BJP preparations

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has conducted two preparatory meetings with its cadre and is moving aggressively to make inroads in the constituency.

Candidate names

Congress and BJP are yet to finalise their nominees. From BRS, potential contenders include Naveen Yadav, former mayor Bonthu Rammohan, Rahmatnagar corporator C N Reddy, and former MP Ranjith Reddy. Speculation about MLA Danam Nagender shifting to Jubilee Hills was dismissed by him.

In BJP, aspirants include Lanka Deepak Reddy, Keerthi Reddy, Chintala Ramachandra Reddy, Madhavi Latha, Dr Padma Vipparthi, and NV Subhash, grandson of former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao. Suspense continues on who will secure tickets from both opposition parties.