HYDERABAD: The political temperature in the state is set to go up a few notches with the possibility of not one, but two by-elections, Jubilee Hills and Goshamahal constituencies within the GHMC limits, likely to be held soon. The stakes are high for Congress, BRS, and BJP, as the results are likely to impact GHMC polls by the year-end or early next year.
Political activity has already started to intensify, with the state preparing for panchayat elections. The panchayat polls must be completed before Sept 30, in compliance with the deadline set by the high court. The Election Commission (EC) would decide on the by-poll for Jubilee Hills and, if required, for Goshamahal. The possibility of a bypoll notification, along with the one for the Bihar assembly election in Oct/Nov, is not being ruled out. The by-poll for Jubilee Hills is imminent due to the death of BRS legislator M Gopinath. The possibility of a by-poll for the Goshamahal constituency, represented by T Raja Singh, is also not being ruled out after the saffron party accepted his resignation. The 10th Schedule of the Constitution clearly states that if the member (MLA) voluntarily gives up his/her membership of a political party, which gave him/her the ticket to contest the election, he/she can be disqualified.
Poll
Should the Election Commission prioritize the by-elections over the panchayat elections?
Although the saffron party won eight constituencies in the 2023 assembly elections, Goshamahal is the only seat it had won in the city. Congress had won Goshamahal in 2009, and thereafter, it has been Raja Singh all the way. AIMIM has not won this seat, and it is the only constituency under the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat that has eluded the party.The Jubilee Hills constituency is also important for Congress, BRS, and BJP. . Congress, with a lone seat in the GHMC limits, Secunderabad Cantonment, is preparing to go all out to win both seats. BRS wants to show Congress its place in the state capital, where it won all the constituencies in the 2023 elections except seven of those won by AIMIM and one by BJP out of the 24 assembly segments in the GHMC limits. Congress had won the Cantonment seat in a by-poll.BRS is likely to field Maganti Gopinath’s widow from Jubilee Hills. Telangana Congress president B Mahesh Kumar Goud confirmed that 10 candidates were ready to contest the Jubilee Hills by-poll when asked whether the ruling party was trying to rope in any family member of M Gopinath or their relatives. On its part, BJP is considering the prospects of three candidates who are eager to contest from Jubilee Hills.A decision on the candidates for Goshamahal is likely to be made by all the political parties after the speaker’s decision on T Raja Singh’s issue. Singh himself is yet to announce his future plans.
