Hyderabad: It’s going to be an ‘all-Reddy’ candidates contest in Congress, BRS and BJP in Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda constituencies in the state though there are contestants from other castes and communities from smaller parties and independents.
Of the 17 seats in Telangana, three are reserved for SCs and two for STs. Though there are Reddy candidates in the electoral fray from some of the remaining 10 open category seats, they are pitted against either Kammas, BCs, Velamas, Muslims and contestants from other castes and communities.
Though both Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda have a large number of BC voters, the influential Reddy community held sway and consolidated their hold after the formation of Telangana state. The Congress, BJP and BRS fielded candidates from Reddy community in the two key seats and Reddy candidates have been winning Mahabubnagar since the formation of Telangana state.
While AP Jithender Reddy of the BRS won in 2014, Manne Srinivas Reddy of the BRS emerged victorious in 2019 polls. The BRS has fielded Srinivas Reddy again, while BJP national vice-president DK Aruna is vying for honours. The Congress has fielded AICC secretary and CWC special invitee Ch Vamshi Chand Reddy.
Interestingly, all three candidates from the Reddy community had contested the 2019 election from Mahabubnagar with Aruna and Vamshi ending up in second and third places respectively.
Mahabubnagar is a prestigious seat, as it was won by BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao (a Velama) in 2009 when the Telangana statehood agitation was at its peak. The Congress last won the seat in 2004. In 1999, Jithender Reddy had won on a BJP ticket.
While the BRS wants to retain the seat for the fourth consecutive term, the BJP sees it as one of the potential constituencies where it can thump both Congress and BRS. The Congress, on the other hand, is riding high following its success in the Nov 2023 assembly elections as it swept all the seven assembly seats in Mahabubnagar Lok Sabha constituency. Political equations have also changed with Jithender Reddy and many others from BRS and BJP jumping into the Congress after the assembly polls.
Nalgonda has been continuously held by Reddys since 1998. However, this time, all the three Reddy candidates from Congress, BRS and BJP are contesting the elections for the first time. The Congress has fielded K Raghuveer Reddy, son of party veteran K Jana Reddy, the BJP nominated S Saidi Reddy, a former MLA from Huzurnagar, who recently shifted from BRS to the saffron party. BRS nominated Kancharla Krishna Reddy for the seat.
