- BJP fields Deepak Reddy again 

- Maganti Sunitha files her nomination

metro india news  I hyderabad

The Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency is gearing up for a competitive by-election, with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Congress, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) finalizing their candidates. The absence of MIM makes this by-election a closely watched three-way contest. The by-election, necessitated by the passing away of former BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath, is scheduled for November 11, with results to be announced on November 14

The BJP has named Lankala Deepak Reddy as its candidate, with the party’s central leadership approving his nomination. The state unit will issue the B Form on Wednesday. Deepak Reddy contested in 2023, securing 25,866 votes (14.11% share) and finishing third. The BJP shortlisted three candidates—Deepak Reddy, Dr. Keerti Reddy, and V. Padma—before finalizing him.

The BRS candidate, Maganti Sunitha, wife of the late Maganti Gopinath, filed her nomination on Wednesday. Sunitha, banking on sympathy votes and her husband’s developmental legacy, has already begun an active campaign. In the 2023 elections, Gopinath secured 80,549 votes and won with a 16,337-vote margin.

The Congress has fielded Naveen Yadav, a local leader who contested as an MIM candidate in 2018. Yadav is leveraging his local connect and the ruling party’s influence. In 2023, Congress candidate Azharuddin secured 64,212 votes, while MIM’s Rasheed Farazuddin garnered 7,848 votes.

With the Majlis-e-Ittehad Muslimeen (MIM) reportedly not contesting, minority votes are expected to be decisive. Analysts suggest that the candidate who secures these votes will have a significant edge. Campaigning is intensifying, with BRS’s Sunitha, Congress’s Naveen Yadav, and BJP’s Deepak Reddy set to engage voters full time with less than a month left for the poll.