After Jubilee Hills defeat, BRS shifts focus to Khairatabad, Station Ghanpur
HYDERABAD: Smarting from its defeat in the Jubilee Hills byelection, the BRS is picking up the pieces and gearing up for the high-stakes Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections.
The party, determined not to let one setback snowball into a crisis, is now dead-serious to reverse the narrative that its fortunes are on a downward spiral. Even as it recalibrates its strategy, the BRS is on the lookout for strong contenders for the Khairatabad and Station Ghanpur constituencies, with the likelihood growing that sitting BRS MLAs Danam Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari respectively could face disqualification for defecting to the Congress.
Having already lost two sitting seats within the Greater Hyderabad limits, the party is keen to plug the haemorrhage and turn the tide by winning the upcoming byelections and positioning itself as a strong contender in the next year’s GHMC polls.
According to BRS insiders, the leadership expects that the two defected MLAs may either be disqualified or may bow out voluntarily before the Speaker wields the axe. The party wants to give the turncoat legislators a taste of their own medicine, and send a strong message that the BRS is far from being on a downward spiral.
PJR legacy
Party sources reveal that the leadership has begun preliminary discussions with P Vishnuvardhan Reddy, son for former MLA late P Janardhan Reddy (PJR), to take on Nagender, should the Congress field him again. By fielding Vishnuvardhan Reddy, the BRS is also attempting to lay claim to the formidable PJR legacy, which still commands respect in parts of the constituency.
For Nagender, Vishnuvardhan Reddy would be a tough opponent. Nagender had crossed swords with PJR’s daughter Vijaya Reddy and defeated her in Khairatabad when she was in the fray as a Congress nominee.
Meanwhile, senior BRS leader Manne Goverdhan Reddy is also throwing his hat in the ring, eyeing the party ticket, with his wife currently serving as a BRS corporator.
On the other front, the BRS is equally upbeat about its prospects in Station Ghanpur, banking on what it claims is palpable anti-incumbency against the Congress government, which it alleges has failed to deliver on its six guarantees and other promises.
The party is likely to field former deputy chief minister Dr T Rajaiah, who had sacrificed his seat during the last Assembly elections to make way for Kadiyam Srihari.
Party insiders say that Rajaiah’s candidature is “as good as final”. If the Speaker disqualifies the two legislators, the party intends to dive headlong into byelection mode, sharpening its campaign machinery and mobilising cadre.