Published Oct 24, 2026 | 10:53 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 24, 2026 | 10:55 AM
Telangana BJP President N Ramachander Rao .(File Photo | X)
BJP Telangana president N Ramachander Rao is likely to enter the fray in the ensuing elections to the Legislative Council under the Graduates’ quota.
Polls are scheduled for early 2027 for two Graduate Council segments: Mahboobnagar-Hyderabad-Rangareddy and Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda. The vacancies must be filled by March next year.
According to sources, the BJP’s central leadership has asked Rao to be the candidate for Hyderabad, though several other aspirants are in the race. The party believes that a victory will give it the much-needed momentum ahead of the bigger test of the Assembly elections slated for 2028.
The Telangana unit of the BJP has remained a divided house, with its MPs at loggerheads and Union Ministers from the State accused of being soft towards the Congress regime. It was only after a “dressing down” by the national leadership that the state unit announced some agitational programmes against the “anti-people” policies of the government.
A lawyer by profession, Rao was elected as MLC from the same segment in 2015 but lost the subsequent election in 2021 to Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi (BRS) nominee Vani Devi. Rao was made head of the state unit in 2025.
The ruling Congress has already announced its candidates for both seats – spokesperson Sama Ramamohan Reddy for Hyderabad and Ramreddy Sarvottam Reddy for Warangal.
Interestingly, the BRS is expected to field a relative lightweight, Veeresh Mudiraj, son of former MLC Gnaneshwar, from Hyderabad, while Rakesh Reddy could be the candidate from Warangal.
A weaker BRS candidate could tilt the balance in favour of Ramachander Rao, given the perceived disenchantment with the Congress, particularly among the educated.
Sensing trouble, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has already met ministers and senior leaders and advised them to make all efforts to ensure victory in the graduate polls.
Rakesh Reddy, meanwhile, is seen as a strong candidate in Warangal. If the BJP cannot find an equally strong candidate, it could make things easy for the BRS.
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(Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
