HYDERABAD: The upcoming byelection for the Jubilee Hills Assembly seat has turned into a litmus test for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has long claimed a strong footing within the Greater Hyderabad limits.
The party repeatedly cites its victory in 46 divisions in the last GHMC elections and its success in three key Lok Sabha seats — Secunderabad, Malkajgiri and Chevella — to assert its urban dominance.
For Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, the stakes are high. Winning Jubilee Hills, which falls under his Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency, is seen as critical to consolidating his political base. The bypoll is equally crucial for BJP’s new Telangana president, N Ramchander Rao, marking his first major test in the role.
Party insiders said the leadership views the bypoll as a “must-win” battle that could trigger a domino effect, paving the way for victory in the next Assembly elections. Accordingly, the BJP is expected to re-nominate Lankala Deepak Reddy, who contested from Jubilee Hills in the 2023 polls.
“The party doesn’t want to take chances with a new face who might struggle to connect with voters,” a senior leader said, noting that Deepak Reddy has already built visibility in the constituency.
BJP strategists are deploying MPs, MLAs, MLCs and other senior leaders as in-charges for divisions and booths to signal their seriousness. “This election will show that the BJP is truly on course to capture power in Telangana,” said another source, echoing the party’s “double engine sarkar” narrative.
In the 2023 Assembly election, Deepak Reddy polled 25,866 votes (14.11%) and finished third. Congress candidate Md Azharuddin secured 64,212 votes (35.03%), while BRS nominee Maganti Gopinath won with 80,549 votes (43.94%), registering a victory margin of 16,337 votes.
