Nominations close on 10 February, but no word yet on BRS candidates. Any reverses could damage image of party.
Published Feb 07, 2025 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated Feb 07, 2025 | 7:00 AM
Former Telangana Chief Minsiter and BRS Supremo K Chandrashekar Rao
Synopsis: Any reverses could damage image of party; BRS to focus on building the party at the grassroots level rather than field candidates for the Legislative Council. This move, it is expected, would consolidate the anti-Congress votes and bolster the chances of the BJP.
The principal opposition party in Telangana, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, has more or less decided to skip the upcoming elections to the Telangana Legislative Council from one graduate and two teachers’ constituencies.
The party is maintaining cryptic silence on whether it will participate in the elections, though nominations close on 10 February.
Sources said the party is not interested in contesting these elections as any reverses could further damage its image.
The decision of the BRS might benefit the BJP, as the anti-Congress vote could then be consolidated in the saffron party’s favour.
The elections have been notified by the Election Commission of India for the Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-
The election is scheduled for 27 February.
Nominations, as mentioned earlier, will close on 10 February.
The vacancies have been caused by the retirement of incumbent Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) T Jeevan Reddy (graduates), Kura Raghottam Reddy of PRTU (Progressive Recognised Teachers’ Union), and Alugubelli Narsi Reddy (teachers).
The BRS is understood to have decided to stay away from the elections so that it could focus on local body elections, for which the state election commission will announce the schedule soon.
According to sources in the BRS, the party leadership believes that its priority is to rebuild the party at the ground level rather than getting bogged down in contesting the MLC elections.
The party may not support any other party in the MLC polls and would stay away from it.
Former chief minister and BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao is understood to have given an indication to party leaders K T Rama Rao and T Harish Rao to this effect.
Though there are a few candidates who were interested in contesting from the graduates’ constituency, the party reportedly decided to skip these elections.
Party leaders are understood to have given an indication to the cadres that the local body elections are more important than the elections to the Legislative Council from graduates and teachers’ constituencies.
Though it is not yet clear whether the state government would go for panchayat elections first or the Mandal Parishad (MPTC) and Zila Parishad (ZPTC) polls, the BRS has decided to be ready whenever the schedule by the state election commission is announced.
The panchayat elections are held on a non-party basis, while the MPTC and ZPTC elections are party-based.
The ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP in Telangana have already taken a deep dive into preparations for the elections.
The Congress has already announced that V Narender Reddy of Allphores Educational Institutions will be its candidate for the graduates’ constituency. It is yet to announce candidates for the remaining two teachers’ constituencies.
The BJP has nominated Puli Sarottham Reddy for the teachers’ constituency comprising Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda districts, and Malka Komariah for the teachers’ constituency consisting of Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad, and Medak.
The saffron party’s candidate for the graduate constituency comprising Medak, Nizamabad, Adilabad, and Karimnagar is industrialist C Anji Reddy.
Sarottham Reddy, hailing from Warangal, has over 30 years of experience as a school teacher and has been active in teachers’ associations.
Malka Komariah, from Peddapally, is an educationist and chairman of Pallavi Group of Institutions, with schools in Peddapally, Nirmal, and Hyderabad.
The BJP is keen on capitalising on the green shoots witnessed in the recent Lok Sabha elections in North Telangana.
As seven of the eight Assembly seats that BJP won in the 2023 elections are in North Telangana, it hopes to win the two seats — one graduates and one of the two teachers’ seats.
In South Telangana, it wants to make a sincere effort to win the remaining teacher’s seat.
The election will be an acid test for Congress’s popularity in the state. The Congress is keen on winning all three seats, to set to rest any murmurs that it has lost its sheen in the one year since it gained power in the state assembly.
In the 40-member Legislative Council, the Congress has 13 members, the BRS (21), and the BJP (1).
The AIMIM has two members, while the TJS and PRTU have one each.
One seat is held by an Independent.
(Edited by Rosamma Thomas)
