SANGAREDDY: The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (previously TRS), which has shown its strength in every election held in the erstwhile Medak district over the past 23 years, suffered a severe defeat in 2024 Parliamentary elections.
Although the party strongly believed it would win at least in the Medak Parliamentary constituency, if not in any of the state’s 17 Lok Sabha seats, the voters gave the party an irreparable shock.
Since the emergence of TRS, it has managed to win the Medak Lok Sabha seat five times, with one byelection, making it a stronghold.
In 1999, Ale Narendra contested as a BJP candidate from the Medak Lok Sabha constituency and won. He later founded the Telangana Sadana Samithi to raise the demand for Telangana statehood. It was later merged with TRS. Narendra contested as a TRS candidate in 2004 and won.
2nd-ever win for BJP here
Since 1999, the BJP has consistently settled for third position here. However, in the 2024 Parliamentary election, BJP candidate M Raghunandan Rao won against his nearest rival, Congress’ Neelam Madhu. With this, the BJP has won the Medak Parliamentary constituency for the second time.
Former IAS officer P Venkatram Reddy contested as a BRS candidate from Medak. Former chief minister and Gajwel MLA K Chandrasekhar Rao and former minister and Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao worked hard for a win in Medak, but the result left them deeply disappointed. There are seven Assembly segments in the Medak Parliament, out of which six constituencies are held by BRS MLAs.
Six months ago, voters in these constituencies supported BRS but now they have shifted towards BJP. It can be said that even BRS sympathisers have shown their desire for BJP to come to power at the Centre once again under the leadership of Narendra Modi.
In the recent Assembly elections held in Siddipet constituency, the Congress and BJP gave only a nominal contest. However, they have now given a jolt to the BRS, with voters strongly supporting these two parties over pink party.