BRS looks at possible sympathy wave to help Lasya Nivedita win Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly seat

Also Read: Parties drag their feet on candidates for Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly seat 

To capitalise on sympathy

The party will be fielding Nivedita to capitalise on the sympathy that is perceived to have built up following the death of her sister — incumbent BRS MLA Lasya Nandita — in a car crash near Hyderabad on 23 February. Her car crashed into a road divider on the Nehru Outer Ring Road at Patancheru on the city outskirts.

Lasya Nandita won the seat riding on the crest of the sympathy wave that rose following the death of her father G Sayanna due to illness on 13 February last year. Sayanna, a five-time MLA, has carved a niche for himself in the hearts of his constituents which made the election of Nandita easy.

She fought and won the election against Narayan Sri Ganesh, who contested on BJP ticket and G Vennela, daughter of revolutionary singer Gadar. Vennela finished third in the race.

After his defeat, Ganesh joined the Congress and will now be fighting against Nivedita forcing the BJP to look for a candidate but it does not have any who has clear winning chances.

Also Read: Eatala ploughs a lonely furrow with little support from other factions

BJP meets BRS aspirants

After KCR finalised Nivedita’s name, BJP leaders reached out to BRS aspirants who were feeling let down. The saffron party seems to be making some progress in spiriting away one leader and fielding him as its candidate in the election.

Some BRS aspirants for the ticket feel that the party should have looked beyond Nivedita as winning the seat this time may not be as easy as it was in November 2023. This is because the Congress is now in an upswing after winning the Assembly elections.

Apart from this, the BJP too has emerged as a redoubtable force. With former minister and a key leader of the BJP Eatala Rajender seeking election from the Malakjgiri Lok Sabha seat, of which the Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly segment is a part, the fight is likely to be between Congress and BJP.

But the BRS leaders are hopeful that Sayanna’s image and the death of incumbent MLA Nandidata will help Nivedita win the seat.

“The BRS is strong in Hyderabad and there should not be any problem in retaining the seat,” one BRS leader said.

Among those who aspired for the BRS ticket was former Telangana Mineral Development Corporation chairman Manne Krishank.

He is the most visible face of the party on social media after the top leaders of the party — KTR and T Harish Rao. He is understood to have lobbied hard to get the party ticket but could not get anywhere.

The other aspirants include Errolla Srinivas, who was the chairman of the Medical Services Infrastructure Development Corporation, and Gajjela Nagesh, who was the Beverages Corporation chairman, are also eyeing the BRS ticket.

They are now the sitting ducks for the BJP to begin its poaching operations.

(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)