The bypoll is being seen as a test to Congress’s candidate choices, BRS’s sympathy card, BJP’s search for relevance, and MIM’s balancing act in Hyderabad politics.
Published Sep 11, 2025 | 5:56 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 11, 2025 | 5:56 PM
Jubilee Hills by-election. (Representational image)
Synopsis: Both BRS and Congress are keen to fill the political vacuum created by the death of Maganti Gopinath. Congress is seeing an internal contest with several leaders competing for the party ticket.
The Jubilee Hills by-election, likely to coincide with Bihar’s Assembly polls in October-November, has ignited a mad rush for the Congress ticket while testing the strategies of all major parties in Telangana.
The death of BRS’s Maganti Gopinath on 8 June 2025 necessitated the bypoll in Jubilee Hills. Gopinath, a three-time MLA, had held Jubilee Hills since 2014 and remained a dominant presence in the constituency. His death created a political vacuum that both Congress and BRS are keen to fill.
For the Congress, the battle is largely internal. Former minister and Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender is a prime aspirant. Having defected from BRS to Congress after its 2023 Assembly win, Nagender faces a hurdle: He contested the 2024 Secunderabad Lok Sabha election and lost on a Congress ticket without resigning his BRS-won Assembly seat, exposing him to possible disqualification.
Still, as a Backward Classes (BC) leader with strong city roots, he views Jubilee Hills as his safest option and is pressing the leadership for a ticket.
G Ranjith Reddy is another contender. He lost the 2024 Chevella Lok Sabha election to BJP’s Konda Visweswar Reddy by 1.72 lakh votes. A former BRS MP who joined Congress, he had won Chevella in 2019.
Hailing from the Reddy community and financially strong, he has assured the party of self-funded campaigning. Yet his caste background may weigh against him as Congress seeks to project BC faces in Hyderabad.
Former MIM leader Naveen Yadav has also staked his claim. Active in Jubilee Hills for years, he has cultivated a following among BC and minority voters. In 2014, he finished second on an MIM ticket, and in 2018, as an independent, polled 18,000 votes. He skipped the 2023 election, when Congress’s Mohammad Azharuddin lost to Gopinath. With the Congress nominating Azharuddin to the Legislative Council, Yadav sees his chance.
The BRS, meanwhile, is likely to field Sunitha, Gopinath’s wife, in hopes of riding a sympathy wave. The BJP has not finalised its nominee but is weighing names like businessman L Deepak Reddy, former Lok Sabha candidate Madhavi Latha, and former Khairatabad MLA Chintala Ramachandra Reddy.
The MIM faces a dilemma. Its growing closeness to Congress and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy complicates matters. If MIM contests, it risks splitting minority votes and helping the BRS. If it stays out, it strengthens Congress but could invite criticism for avoiding a Hyderabad fight while seeking to contest in states like Bihar and Maharashtra.
The bypoll is being seen as a test to Congress’s candidate choices, BRS’s sympathy card, BJP’s search for relevance, and MIM’s balancing act in Hyderabad politics.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
