HYDERABAD: In the wake of the sudden demise of Jubilee Hills BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath, there is intense speculation over who will contest in the imminent byelection for the seat.
The Election Commission has to hold a bypoll within six months of a seat falling vacant, whether due to death or resignation, provided the remaining tenure of the Assembly is more than one year. As the present Assembly’s term does not end till December 2028, the EC is expected to issue a notification soon.
Since the bypoll is imminent for Jubilee Hills, all three principal parties — the ruling Congress, the main opposition BRS and the BJP -- are now turning their attention to the byelection.
Sources said that the BRS leaders were waiting to see whom party chief and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao would field in the byelection.
Earlier, KCR chose family members of deceased party MLAs -- such as Solipeta Ramalinga Reddy, Nomula Narsimhaiah and G Sayanna -- to contest byelections in their respective constituencies.
If he follows the same tradition, he will most likely field either Gopinath’s wife or another member of his family.
The situation in the Congress is different as there will be many aspirants for the ticket, including former MP and cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin.
Sources said that leaders close to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, including Khairatabad DCC president C Rohin Reddy, Telangana Minorities Residential Educational Institutions Society vice-chairman and president Faheem Qureshi and GHMC corporator P Vijaya Reddy, are in the race for the ticket.
According to discussions in Congress circles, the AIMIM may also consider entering the fray, given the tough fight it put up in the 2014 election by fielding V Naveen Yadav. The party may also extend support to the BRS if the pink party decides to field one of Gopinath’s family members.
If the AIMIM does not contest, the Congress will test its luck, considering its recent victory in the Secunderabad Cantonment bypoll against G Niveditha, sister of G Lasya Nanditha, whose death in a road accident necessitated the byelection. In that contest, the Congress won the seat from the BRS after 10 years.
On the other hand, the BJP is also closely watching the developments. If the Congress enters the byelection race, the saffron party will field its own candidate.
Sources say there is intense competition for the BJP ticket in Jubilee Hills. Among the aspirants is Lankala Deepak Reddy, who previously contested unsuccessfully from the constituency.