While its three sitting MLAs lost, those who were not known beyond their constituencies kept the BJP flag flying.
Published Dec 04, 2023 | 7:47 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 04, 2023 | 7:48 PM
(Clockwise from top left) The BJP's winners: A Maheshwar Reddy from Nirmal, T Raja Singh from Goshamahal, Dhanpal Suryanarayana from Nizamabad Urban, K Venkataramana Reddy from Kamareddy, P Harish Babu from Sirpur, Rama Rao Pawar from Mudhole, P Rakesh Reddy from Armur, and Payal Shankar from Adilabad. (MenonArvindBJP/X)
The BJP has sprung a surprise in the Telangana Assembly election, and in the process, upset the apple cart of not only the BRS but also the Congress.
If three of its MPs — Soyam Bapu Rao, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, and Dharmapuri Arvind — were defeated in Boath, Karimnagar, and Korutla, respectively, eight leaders. most of whose names were not heard probably beyond their constituencies, emerged as surprise winners.
BJP candidate K Venkata Ramana Reddy rewrote the history of Kamareddy and also the state by defeating BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao and TPCC president A Revanth Reddy. His winning margin was 6,741 votes, but it was a high-stakes contest.
The result had a devastating impact on the BRS as its leader, considered invincible in every sense, lagged, and finally lost to a lesser mortal like Venkata Ramana Reddy. The impact of the defeat of Revanth Reddy also came as a wet blanket on the Congress, but the party had the luxury of dismissing it as a minor hiccup as it won the election at the state level.
All three candidates polled more than 50,000 votes each. If Ramana Reddy polled 66,652, Chandrashekar Rao came close, bagging 59,911 votes. Revanth Reddy, who is the front-runner for the chief minister’s position, finished third with 54,916 votes.
The victory of T Raja Singh in Goshamahal came as no surprise because of the variegated demographic profile of the constituency. All the BJP’s voters, which include Marwaris, Agarwals, and Gujaratis, are concentrated in the segment.
Raja singh polled 80,182 votes and won the election by a margin of 21,457 votes. His nearest rival was BRS’s Nanda Kishore who polled 58,725, while M Sunita Rao of the Congress came third with just 6,265 votes.
In Sirpur, it was Dr Palvai Harish Babu who won by a margin of 3,088 votes over his nearest BRS rival Koneru Konappa. Here too, votes polled by the three main contenders were huge. Harish Babu polled 63,043 votes while Konappa won 60,000 votes and the BSP’s RS Praveen Kumar got 43,589 votes.
In fact, Konappa and Praveen Kumar were considered strong leaders. The BRS was expected to benefit from both Praveen Kumar and Harish Babu but the BJP emerged victorious as the anti-incumbency factor and the favourable climate in North Telangana helped it.
In Nirmal, Alleti Maheshwar Reddy won the seat by a margin of 50,703. He had earlier won an election on a PRP ticket which itself was an achievement in Telangana. Later, he went into political exile and appeared once again when he joined the BJP during Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s padayatra.
No one anticipated that Indrakaran Reddy of the BRS had so much anti-incumbency load on his shoulders that the voters of the Nirmal constituency would overwhelmingly support the BJP’s Maheswar Reddy.
People appeared to have decided to give a break to Indrakaran, but Maheshwar Reddy winning by a huge margin was unexpected.
He polled 1,04,642 votes and Indrakaran Reddy secured 55,697 votes. Third in the race was K Srinivasa Rao of the Congress with just 28,642 votes.
In Adilabad too, Payal Shanker, a relatively unknown leader, won the election with 6,692 votes. He polled 67,068 votes. His nearest rival was Jogu Ramanna of the BRS who polled 60,321. K Srinivas Reddy of the Congress with 46,763 votes came third.
In Mudhole, Ram Rao Pawar won by a margin of 23,999 votes. He polled 98252 votes, while BRS’s G Vittal Reddy got about 73000 votes. The Congress nominee, V Narayan Rao Patil, polled more than 15,000 votes.
In Armur, Paidi Rakesh Reddy won the seat with 29,669 votes majority. He polled 72,658 votes. P Vinay Reddy of the Congress came second with 43,000 votes while BRS’s Ashannagari Jeevan Reddy ended third with about 40,000 votes. The defeat of the sitting BRS MLA came as a surprise.
In Nizamabad (Urban), second-rung leader Dhanpal Suryanarayan won the election with a majority of 15,387. He polled 75,240 votes. His nearest rival was Md Ali Shabbir of Congress who secured 59,853 votes while the BRS’ Bigala Ganesh Gupta ended third with 44,829 votes.
