Lok Sabha polls | Six constituencies to watch out for as Telangana votes tomorrow

With the poll campaign coming to an end for Lok Sabha elections in Telangana, the stage is set for a triangular fight between the ruling Congress, BRS and BJP.

While the Congress has pulled out all stops to ensure that they emerge victorious and prove that its triumph in the recent assembly elections was no fluke, the BRS is looking forward to gaining the lost ground in the state. The BJP too is trying to make the inroads after dominating the politics in the neighbouring Karnataka for quite some time now.

Among the key constituencies in the state are Secunderabad, Karimnagar, Hyderabad, Nizamabad, Malkajgiri and Khammam.

Secunderabad: The constituency is witnessing a triangular contest between Union minister and Telangana BJP chief G Kishan Reddy, Congress’ Dana Nagender and BRS’ T Padmarao Goud. The BJP recorded two consecutive victories in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Reddy has sought votes on the basis of the works done by the Union government in the last 10 years for development of Secunderabad. In the 2023 assembly elections, BRS won six assembly seats while AIMIM bagged the Nampally seat falling under the Lok Sabha constituency.

Karimnagar: With former Telangana BJP chief and sitting MP Bandi Sanjay contesting from Karimnagar, all eyes are on the constituency. His campaign revolved around the Hindutva agenda of the BJP, while Congress candidate Vilichala Rajender Rao and BRS candidate Vinod Kumar countered his narrative with their plan for development of the constituency. In the 2023 assembly elections, the Congress won six of the seven assembly seats under the Karimnagar constituency.

Hyderabad: Though four candidates from major political parties are contesting from Hyderabad, which is the citadel of AIMIM, the main contest is between AIMIM and BJP whose candidate Madhavi Latha is trying to break the stronghold of AIMIM. However, unfazed, sitting MP and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi is moving ahead with his own strategy. He is banking on the vast majority of Muslims with more than 60% electorate belonging to the community in his constituency. On the other hand, Madhavi Latha is hoping that her Hindutva agenda will get her Hindu votes in the constituency.

Nizamabad: Sitting BJP MP Dharmapuri Arvind is trying to retain the seat while contesting against former Congress minister T Jeevan Reddy and BRS’ candidate Bajireddy Govardhan. With the Congress government in Telangana making efforts to open sugar factories there has been a positive trend towards the party among the sugarcane farmers. Similarly, the turmeric farmers are backing the BJP.

Malkajgiri: The constituency assumes great significance for the Congress as Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy won the seat in 2019. Former minister Etela Rajender entered the fray as the BJP candidate. CM Reddy, who fielded Sunitha Mahender Reddy as the candidate of the ruling Congress, has carried out intensive campaign in the constituency. The Congress hopes that implementation of guarantees will help them emerge victorious on the seat. BRS won seven assembly seats under Malkajgiri in 2023 assembly elections. Malkajgiri, which is the largest constituency and has a huge number of migrant voters, is likely to see a drop in voter turnout as the migrant voters have gone back to their respective states. Overall, there is a straight contest between BJP and Congress in Malkajgiri.

Khammam: Sitting BRS MP Nama Nageswara Rao, Congress candidate Ram Sahayam Raghurami Reddy and BJP candidate Tandra Vinod Rao are in the poll fray. However, the main contest is between the Congress and the BRS. Nama Nageswara Rao, who won the 2019 elections, maintains a direct connect with the voters in the constituency. He is confident that the development works he has carried out as an MP will help him win again. The Congress won six seats in the 2023 assembly elections in Khammam parliamentary constituency, which is a Congress bastion.

(This article was originally published in The Federal Telangana.)