Yadav faces legal scrutiny, including charges of distributing voter ID cards, which the Opposition has used to question his credibility.
Published Oct 09, 2025 | 11:20 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 09, 2025 | 11:20 AM
Naveen Yadav. Credit: x.com/PingNaveenYadav
Synopsis: Congress named V Naveen Yadav as its candidate for the Jubilee Hills by-election on 11 November, aiming to strengthen its hold on Hyderabad. Facing legal scrutiny, Yadav, a former AIMIM member, enjoys Congress and indirect AIMIM support. The bypoll tests Congress–AIMIM dynamics and sets the stage for the 2026 GHMC elections.
The Congress on Wednesday, 9 October, named V Naveen Yadav as its official candidate for the by-election to Jubilee Hills Assembly seat, scheduled for 11 November, setting the stage for an intense urban political contest in Hyderabad.
The announcement, made by AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, marks the ruling party’s bid to consolidate its hold over the city after the seat fell vacant following the death of BRS legislator Maganti Gopinath.
Naveen Yadav clinched the nomination, edging out prominent aspirants including former Mayor Bonthu Rammohan and former MP Anjan Kumar Yadav. The Congress hopes his candidature will galvanise support from the Yadav community, one of the numerically strong groups among the Backward Classes.
A 41-year-old architect and real estate entrepreneur, Yadav has long nurtured political ambitions. His electoral journey began with the AIMIM — he first contested from Yousufguda division in the 2009 GHMC elections, where he lost to the TDP nominee.
In the 2014 Assembly polls, he again contested from Jubilee Hills on an MIM ticket, polling over 41,500 votes (25 percent), and finishing second.
He later contested unsuccessfully the 2015 GHMC elections from Rahmatnagar and the 2018 Assembly polls as an Independent, securing nearly 19,000 votes. Having joined the Congress in 2023, he sat out of the general elections but now hopes fortune will finally favour him in the bypoll.
Yadav, however, faces legal scrutiny, including charges of distributing voter ID cards, which the Opposition has used to question his credibility. Yet, the Congress leadership — particularly Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy — appears firmly behind him, viewing him as a strong contender in a constituency with a significant Muslim voter base.
Interestingly, he has familial ties with former BRS minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav, though the extent of any political influence remains uncertain. Talasani, a BRS stalwart, has remained steadfastly loyal to his party despite the shifting political winds.
In a move that could reshape electoral equations, the AIMIM has decided not to field a candidate in Jubilee Hills — a marked departure from its 2023 alliance with BRS — and is instead extending indirect support to Congress.
AIMIM’s support to Congress is seen as conditional. BJP leaders, including MP M Raghunandan Rao, have accused both the parties of striking a “secret pact”, since the former has set its eyes on the mayor’s post in the upcoming GHMC elections, expected in February 2026.
The GHMC polls — spanning 150 wards across Hyderabad — are critical for civic control. Past precedents, such as the TRS (now BRS) securing the mayor’s chair with AIMIM support in 2021, lend weight to speculation that Congress might offer a similar quid pro quo, potentially paving the way for a Majlis mayor.
AIMIM’s strategy appears calibrated — ensuring Muslim representation in key posts while avoiding direct confrontation with Congress in select constituencies like Jubilee Hills.
As the campaign gathers pace, the Jubilee Hills bypoll is emerging as a litmus test — not just for Naveen Yadav’s political fortunes, but for the evolving Congress–AIMIM dynamics and the contours of urban politics ahead of the 2026 GHMC elections.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
