HYDERABAD: The Jubilee Hills byelection has turned into a contest of prestige for the BJP MP and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, as the constituency falls within his Secunderabad Lok Sabha segment.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has repeatedly mocked the BJP, asking whether it would “at least retain its deposit”. That taunt has turned the byelection into a personal challenge for Kishan, who has thrown his full weight behind the campaign.
In the 2023 Assembly election, the BJP secured 25,866 votes. This time, it has again fielded Lankala Deepak Reddy, hoping to improve on that tally. For newly appointed state BJP president N Ramchander Rao, the bypoll is the first real test of his leadership.
Revanth has alleged that the BRS vote share has quietly shifted to the BJP under a “secret understanding”, while the BJP insists it is fighting to prove its relevance in Hyderabad’s urban belt. The recurring charge of a BJP–BRS pact has caused unease within the local cadre, forcing the party to push back with a show of unity and visibility.
Kishan, joined by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and MoS Bandi Sanjay Kumar, MPs M Raghunandan Rao and DK Aruna, and several MLAs and MLCs, has campaigned aggressively for Deepak. Sanjay added heat to the campaign with his sharp speeches at street-corner meetings.
The BJP is confident of improving its vote share and believes that the byelection offers an opportunity to reinforce its presence in the capital region. But a defeat — or a loss of deposit — would deliver a blow to the party’s morale ahead of the local body and GHMC polls.
For Kishan and Ramchander Rao, the stakes are as political as they are personal — the result will reveal whether the BJP’s urban experiment in Hyderabad still holds promise, or needs rebuilding from the ground up.