The Jubilee Hills election has become a matter of prestige for both the Congress and the BRS, with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and KT Rama Rao leaving no stone unturned.
Published Oct 30, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 30, 2025 | 9:00 AM
![[LTR] Union Minister Kishan G Reddy, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Union Minister Bandi Sanjay.](https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media.thesouthfirst.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Telangana-1.jpg "Telangana")
[LTR] Union Minister Kishan G Reddy, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Union Minister Bandi Sanjay.
Synopsis: A curious twist has emerged in Telangana politics ahead of the high-stakes Jubilee Hills byelection, with leaders of the Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party privately hoping for a Congress victory. Several pro-Congress BJP leaders believe that a BRS defeat could weaken the regional party, creating more space for the BJP to expand ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
One might not expect the leaders of the Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a party in power at the Centre and in several states, to wish for the victory of their main opposition, the Congress, in the upcoming byelection to the Jubilee Hills constituency in Hyderabad. Yet, curiously, this appears to be the case.
The bypoll was necessitated by the death of a sitting Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislator. The election is largely a contest between the Congress and the BRS, with the BJP pushed to a distant third.
Pre-poll surveys released so far suggest a lead of about five to six percent for the BRS, while the BJP remains far from reaching even double digits in vote share.
The saffron party’s preparations for the polls have also largely been lacklustre, with the candidate announced at the last minute, unlike the Congress and the BRS, which took the plunge much earlier.
As a result, a section of BJP leaders, including a Union Minister, are hoping—even praying—that the ruling Congress somehow manages to wrest the seat from the BRS.
Jubilee Hills falls under the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Union Minister G Kishan Reddy. Bandi Sanjay is the other Union Minister from Telangana, and it is well known that the two do not see eye to eye. The current State BJP president, N Ramachandra Rao, is also seen as part of Reddy’s camp.
If political developments over the two years since the Congress came to power in the State are any indication, the BJP appears to have forgotten that it is one of the two main opposition parties.
On most occasions, the party has shown little interest in holding the ruling party accountable. Instead, BJP leaders have often been found training their guns on the BRS and its working president, KT Rama Rao.
In private, BJP leaders lament that the “individual opportunism” of some within the party has come at the expense of any effort to expand and strengthen the organisation after the 2023 Assembly elections.
This, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly chiding the eight BJP MPs from Telangana for not playing their opposition role effectively.
According to party sources, in recent off-the-record conversations, some leaders expressed the view that a Congress victory would suit them better. Whether it is better for them individually or for the party is the question.
Allegations have already surfaced that senior BJP leaders holding key positions are maintaining close relationships with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy – and that he, in turn, is reciprocating in good measure.
The reasoning offered by these pro-Congress Saffron leaders is that a defeat for the BRS would further weaken it, creating more space for the BJP to grow ahead of the next elections in 2027.
The counterargument, however, is that a poor showing in Jubilee Hills, an urban seat, would raise serious questions about the BJP’s strength in its traditional stronghold of Secunderabad. It could also dampen any ideas that leaders from other parties might be entertaining of the BJP as an alternative to the BRS and the Congress.
The Jubilee Hills election has become a matter of prestige for both the Congress and the BRS, with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and KT Rama Rao leaving no stone unturned.
The latest move by the Congress is the decision to induct former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin as a minister in Revanth Reddy’s Cabinet, in the hope of securing Muslim voters for the ruling party.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), led by MP Asaduddin Owaisi, has already announced support for the Congress, preferring to stay away from the election following confabulations between Owaisi and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
However, the emerging view within the Congress is that this might have been a strategic misstep. The Majlis commands a vote bank of around 25,000 to 30,000 in Jubilee Hills, but there is no guarantee that its supporters will vote for the Congress merely because the AIMIM is not contesting. What if they prefer the BRS instead?
Pre-poll surveys suggest that among Muslim voters, the BRS is currently maintaining a lead of about five percent over the Congress. Continuous surveys being carried out on behalf of the government are also confirming a lead for the BRS, according to highly placed sources.
About a month ago, the Congress appeared to have an edge, but the official surveys indicated that the mood turned negative over the past week for various reasons, including loose comments by outspoken ministers and the intimidating tactics of the Congress candidate.
Hence, the desperation in making Azharuddin a minister – a proposal that was not under consideration until recently.
Still, the Congress remains hopeful that last-minute “poll management” by Revanth Reddy and the “general fear” among voters in slum areas that they would either be targeted or neglected in the event of a defeat for the ruling party would help the party sail through.
Past elections, however, have not always proved this theory right.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
