HYDERABAD: For chief minister A Revanth Reddy, there is more at stake in the coming Mahbubnagar-Rangareddy-Hyderabad Graduate MLC election than prestige. He is well aware of the implications a victory could have for the Congress in future elections in the GHMC, Khairatabad and other constituencies, particularly in urban areas where the party has struggled to establish a foothold.
The constituency has remained elusive for the Congress since the Legislative Council was revived during the tenure of the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy. Independent candidates, the BJP and the BRS, earlier known as the TRS, have won the seat, while the Congress has consistently finished second or lower. Now in power, Revanth is keen to break that record, turning the contest into a test of his leadership and the party’s urban appeal.
The wider electoral picture explains the urgency. The Congress won a majority of Assembly seats in the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district, some in erstwhile Rangareddy district and two Assembly seats in Hyderabad in the bypolls. However, it lost the Mahbubnagar, Chevella, Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seats, winning only Nagarkurnool among the constituencies overlapping with the Graduate MLC segment. The party has also suffered setbacks in Local Body MLC byelections since coming to power.
The Congress has fielded Sama Rammohan Reddy and appointed observers, while Revanth and the TPCC chief are holding review meetings with ministers, MLAs, MPs, MLCs and other leaders. The campaign is expected to combine voter enrolment, constituency-level meetings and direct outreach through phone calls and messages. The choice of a younger candidate is also intended to appeal to graduates amid growing youth participation in politics.
The electoral record offers little comfort. In 2007, Independent candidate Prof K Nageswar won, with the Congress-supported P Venugopal Reddy finishing second. Prof Nageswar retained the seat in 2009 with Left support. BJP candidate N Ramchander Rao won in 2015, before BRS candidate Surabhi Vani Devi defeated him in 2021. Congress candidate and former minister G Chinna Reddy finished fourth.
The BJP is considering Ramchander Rao again, with party sources citing his experience and tha BJP’s performance in the four Lok Sabha constituencies within the broader electoral area. The BRS, meanwhile, is looking for a candidate capable of challenging both parties and demonstrating that it remains a contender for power in the next Assembly elections.
For Revanth, the challenge is to convert the Congress’s Assembly victories into support among urban graduates. A win would end the party’s long wait for the seat and provide momentum ahead of future contests. A defeat would raise questions about its urban reach despite being in government. After all, holding power and winning over voters are two different things.