Telangana polls: BRS makes a strong pitch for Dubbaka; BJP candidate fights back

However, the constituency catapulted onto the national stage, when lawyer cum politician BJP candidate M Raghunandan Rao wrested the seat from the mighty Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the by-election held in November 2020. At that time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted in Telugu hailing the victory as historical.

The win assumed significance as Dubbaka, 110 km away from Hyderabad, is the backyard of VVIP constituencies such as Gajwel, Sircilla, and Siddipet, which are represented by none other than the Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), his son K T Ramarao and nephew Harish Rao respectively.

The election exposed the chinks in the BRS that was until then riding a huge wave on regional sentiments. Though, it was a pyrrhic victory with Raghunandan Rao winning the election with a margin of a paltry 1,079 votes, the win set off a BJP juggernaut of sorts in the state. Shortly after, the BJP pocketed the Huzurabad constituency in a by-election and later cornered many seats in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Election.

Riding on the Dubbaka victory for over two years, BJP, even began to dream of becoming an alternative to BRS.

Fall from grace

Once a protégé of KCR, 55-year-old Raghunandan Rao fell from grace when he was a politburo member. An impressive orator, Raghunandan joined the BJP in 2013 and unsuccessfully contested the 2014 and 2018 Assembly elections and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. His tenacity paid dividends when he won the by-election in which an over-confident KCR did not campaign.

More than a victory for BJP, the Dubbaka win was considered a setback for KCR.

Today, as Telangana is poised to go to the polls on November 30, it has become a matter of prestige for KCR to win back the seat and drive away the saffron party from his backyard.

In the 2020 by-polls, BRS had fielded the late MLA Ramalinga Reddy’s wife Sujata Reddy. However, this time, the party jettisoned her and fielded sitting MP Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, one of the richest politicians from the state with assets worth ₹126 crore, as per the 2019 election affidavit.

Rooster knife attack

Before a knife attack on Prabhakar Reddy changed everything, the BRS campaign in Dubbaka had revolved around highlighting the government's welfare schemes such as Rythu Bandhu, Dalit Bandhu, old-age pensions, etc. The knife attack, which has put the Opposition parties on the defensive, changed the complexion of the BRS campaign.

As Prabhakar Reddy’s candidature was announced in August itself, he seems to be far ahead of his rivals, BJP’s Raghunandan and Cheruku Srinivasa Reddy of Congress. Pink, the colour of BRS, is ubiquitous. BRS supporters, who consider the 2020 by-election loss an aberration, say in the absence of a BRS MLA, the constituency had suffered a lot and people will now rectify the mistake.

Mote Sudhakar, a BRS supporter, told The Federal, “The BJP candidate after winning the by-election has been busy engaging in anti-BRS campaigns forgetting the local needs of the people. What did Raghunandan do in the past three years except promote his own image outside the constituency?”

"Meanwhile, the BRS government has implemented many welfare schemes and families have benefited as their living standards have improved. People want this to continue,” he argued.

On the other hand, many consider Raghunandan Rao as a fighter. And, this has turned the battle in this constituency into a highly pitched one between two parties – the BRS and the BJP.

Congress’ Srinivasa Reddy, son of well-respected leader late Cheruku Mutyam Reddy, is yet to get his act together.

“Don’t judge one’s winning prospects by the campaign fury on the roads. Congress and the Cheruku family need no special campaign. Srinivasa Reddy, a soft-spoken and not a flamboyant politician, enjoys silent support,” said a Congress sympathizer.

Local favourite

However, BJP’s Raghunandan with his belligerent stand against the ruling government is a bit of a star in his party. After his dramatic win against the BRS in the 2020 by-election, he was asked by the party leadership to campaign in every election for his party. His bellicose approach towards a "non-cooperative government" has won him a lot of fans in the constituency.

Raghunandan told The Federal that he was denied even the constituency development fund of ₹5 cr per year.

“Minister Harish Rao spent the money as per his whims and fancies. I have filed a petition in the HC against this kind of discrimination,” pointed out Raghunandan. He often takes legal recourse to make the government fall in line. Some sections of his constituency acknowledge his contributions. He fought and brought the new RTC bus stand and a local hospital and inaugurated two bedroom houses much to the disappointment of the ruling party.

“Though built long back, the government did not distribute the two bedroom houses to the poor. Normally, the inauguration of two-BHK is done as a great festival by BRS, which is all for political mileage. Raghunandan forced the government to agree to distribute them to the poor. He inaugurated the colony without any fanfare,” pointed out Pentam Gangaram, a grocery shop owner.

Many attribute Raghunandan’s success in Dubbaka to his fighting spirit and not because of his party.

“He has been a fighter since the days of the Telangana movement. He has a huge following among the youth and has strengthened his position in the past three years. It is not going to be easy for BRS to wrest it from Raghunandan,” said Gundaboyina Balakrishna, a businessman, with a Congress family background.

Campaign gets derailed

Even as the campaign was being fought over serious issues, it got completely derailed for a while by a knife attack on BRS’ candidate Prabhakar Reddy.

Reddy was campaigning in the constituency on October 30, when an assailant attacked Reddy with a kitchen knife leading to injuries on his stomach. He was rushed to a private hospital in Hyderabad where doctors reportedly removed a portion of his small intestine.

Blame it on Congress

Telangana minister KT Rama Rao alleged that a desperate Congress was resorting to violent attacks on ruling party candidates. On the other hand, PCC president A Revanth alleged that the attacker Raju was a BJP member and a follower of Raghunandan Rao. While Raghunandan Rao showcased .... claimed in his social media profile that he is a Congress worker.

In social media, the incident has become popularly known as the “rooster knife” (Kodi Kathi) case, alluding to a similar rooster knife attack on YS Jaganmohan at Vizag airport before the 2019 elections.

It is not known who is behind the Dubbaka attack, but BRS supporters believe the attack has certainly whipped up sympathy for Prabhakar Reddy. And, this development may tilt the balance in BRS' favour  in the November 30 state assembly elections.