Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha Battle: Triangular Tussle for Telangana Seat between Congress, BRS, And BJP | Parami News

The general category includes Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha constituency in Telangana and part of Mahbubnagar district. There are seven assembly segments which include, Kodangal, Narayanpet, Mahbubnagar, Jadcherla, Devarkadra, Makthal and Shadnagar.

Manne Srinivas Reddy is the incumbent MP from Bharat Rashtra Samithi who has been given a poll ticket again. Other main contenders include Challa Vamshi Chand Reddy from Congress and DK Aruna from Bharatiya Janata Party.

Polling for this constituency will take place on May 13 as part of the 4th phase of these general elections.

Mahbubnagar will witness another triangular contest like in 2019 involving the same candidates—Manne Srinivas Reddy (BRS), Challa Vamshi Chand Reddy (Congress) and DK Aruna (BJP).

Since K Chandrashekar Rao’s BRS government was dethroned by voters in 2023, political sands have shifted in Telangana. The Congress’ emphatic success at polling booths along with unprecedented rise to power of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has placed it on a firm footing to wrest control of Mahbubnagar which has been a BRS bastion since 2009. However, BJP is not an underdog in this contest thereby making things difficult for the Congress.

In the assembly elections of 2023 alone, Congress won all seven assembly seats in Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha Constituency by over one lakh votes margin while their vote share stood at 46.4% against BRS’38.7%. This was quite a leap from what it achieved in the year that involved only taking up just about 20.8% for congress whereas its rival took full advantage of the period by raising it to 50%.

By 2019 parliamentary elections, Congress was at third position with around 20% votes whereas BRS candidate won the seat with a vote share of 41.78%.

On the other hand, BJP has been gaining strength in successive elections. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, it came second improving its vote share from 27.7% (2014) to nearly 34%.

Having emerged victorious in the state last year, Congress’ prospects for Lok Sabha elections have increased especially bearing in mind that CM Revanth Reddy has made it a personal fight for him, particularly within his home constituency of Mahbubnagar.

Congress is targeting victories in about fourteen out of seventeen seats in the state and Mahbubnagar is one among them as a crucial battleground. A Revanth Reddy started his political career in the Mahbubnagar district where he won his first zilla parishad territorial constituency. To prove his mettle and solidify his hold over the party, this leader is using his influence locally to galvanize voters based on reputation rather than on candidate’s name alone thus lifting congress game from its poor showing in 2019.

For instance, The Congress has retained Challa Vamshi Chand Reddy as its candidate for next year. Despite losing the election back then below BRS and BJP (with less than 20 percent shares), Reddy finished third out of three candidates vying for MP seat during campaign period held three years ago; NSUI member who had been Andhra Pradesh Youth Congress State President even before being elected an MLA from Kalwakurthy Constituency in November 2014 .

Reddy is a famous figure within the constituency as he is native to Mahbubnagar and a youth leader. He has gained some popularity with the Congress’ recent upturn, as well as from an endorsement by the Chief Minister.

However, minority voters in the state who have been swayed by Revanth’s charisma might switch their allegiance from KCR. In addition, seven MLAs from this constituency give the Congress campaign leader huge clout and put BRS on a back foot.

But BJP was not bothered because of what Congress does; this has made it jittery. When they were campaigning recently at Narayanpet Revanth Reddy pointed out that his party had apprehended such an agreement between BRS and BJP. He also accused DK Aruna of failing to take Palamuru Irrigation Project further when she joined BJP.

The BJP is giving tough fight for Mahabubnagar seat which will see both KCR and Revanth Reddy taking on its candidate DK Aruna. The party wants to use her strong presence in Mahbubnagar district by nominating her, a known political personality in Telangana like Konda Vishweshwar Reddy. She got into assembly for first time in 2004 representing Gadwal constituency on Samajwadi Party ticket then shifted to congress continued till 2014 for two more terms. She served as minister for Andhra Pradesh under YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s regime when he governed that territory stretches over fifteen years until recently when she switched sides joining Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Aruna is a very powerful politician coming from south Telangana where her family has strong links with both Congress and BRS parties and holds great influence over all parts of Mahbubnagar District. Her father, Ch Narsireddy was MLA while as Rammohan Reddy, her elder brother lost as a BRS candidate in Makthal constituency in 2023. Her nephew BK Reddy is an MLA from Gadwal seat representing BRS. Furthermore, DK Samarasimha Reddy, the elder brother of her husband was prominent within Congress in the 1980s and 1990s when he had tight grip over district.

Aruna is a strong-willed contestant who has deep rooted connections with Telangana and a powerfully linked family background which makes her tough for Congress to beat. She even promised to be part of the union cabinet if she gets elected while fully supporting BJP’s aspirations for Mahbubnagar voters.

DK Aruna is a tough lady with an impressive political experience who is eyeing onto Mahabubnagar Lok Sabha seat. The election year of 2019 saw it move from fifth to second position with almost 34% of total votes casted after DK Aruna joined BJP as its candidate. This time round, the party wants more than that through a one-on-one contest with Congress.

Furthermore, Narendra Modi’s influence has made Aruna a political force to be reckoned with as the PM’s popularity in the region is on the rise due to developments and welfare schemes initiated by his government. In addition, Hindutva is also an important factor that has seen BJP gain support from Ayodhya Ram Mandir celebrations. As a result of which there is undercurrent of strong BJP support amongst Hindu voters especially among forward castes like Brahmins in Mahbubnagar at a time when minority votes risk being divided between two other parties.

Mahbubnagar was once a BRS fortress but it is slipping out of its hands even as we speak. It was won by K Chandrashekar Rao in 2009 but now it belongs to Manne Srinivas Reddy since 2019 who will also be running for re-election in 2024 for a second term. In the same year, he polled over 77,000 votes more than his closest rival DK Aruna from BJP wing. But this time round, things are not going to be smooth for BRS because Congress has made its grand comeback.

Reports suggest that this devastating loss in assembly elections have left BRS decimated within the state. They had managed to secure just 38.7% against their previous share of over 50% in 2018. The party could not even win one seat in Mahbubnagar constituency.

The regional party fears being sidelined if there would be national contests between the BJP and the Congress only.” KCR says his fight is directly with the BJPs while ignoring presence of Congress as dominant party standing; “my party after losing on state level elections came back again following alleged anger on Revanth Reddy government during last few months” were some of his utterances during recent district visit where he mentioned power blackouts.” According to him, Congress can’t give electricity even.

This seat is a matter of prestige for the former CM KCR who still has great sway in the state. He’s using his political weight amongst the underprivileged and minority Mahbubnagar population to retain this fortress.

Age group

Divitipally locality; Many thrived in poverty line and desire to own houses someday; this wish was made real by state government scheme operated under K Chandrashekar Rao as people were given BHKs at Divitipally’s KCR Nagar.However, these buildings had critical problems that people had to pay for fixing out of pocket but they also paid up loans from banks , individual money lenders et cetera totaling ten lakh rupees.Moreover, there are no essential services within that area like roads, security measures, educational institutions, local vegetable market place ,street lightings and reliable public transport connectivity among others.The residents plus beneficiaries of the government scheme have repeatedly asked for improved police protection or road linkage without any development taking place.”

Palamuru irrigation project: This project is crucial for the drought-stricken areas of the Mahbubnagar district, including the Kodangal, Narayanpet, and Makthal assembly constituencies. But it has been caught in a war of words between the Congress and BJP, with Revanth Reddy claiming that DK Aruna had failed to secure central funds for the project despite having joined the BJP. She though has not been in power for the last five years. Aruna addressed the attack as “frustration”, stating that the misleading and false campaign unleashed by Revanth Reddy would backfire on him.

Emigration and unemployment: Despite having good infrastructure capabilities to support higher education, it has failed to provide employment opportunities for educated youths in this region. Presently there is only one IT park in Mahbubnagar which also lacks major companies. Thus at present time, employment opportunities are extremely limited. People especially youth have to leave their smaller towns to neighboring urban centers like Hyderabad or Chennai or even Bengaluru so as to get better options.

Freebies: Freebies have elicited strong criticism from middle class and lower middle class citizens. People were surprised by the magnitude of freebies announced by BRS and Congress indicating that they understand this move as vote bank politics rather than social welfare measures.Pertinently, people ask how are government going to pay for all these freebies they have announced; does state have money; if yes why not invest on civic infrastructural development such as roads schools hospitals colleges?

Distribution of schemes: The BRS had implemented a huge number of welfare and other schemes such as Aasara pension scheme,Rythu Bandhu,Dalit Bandhu,Podu Patta,Dharani Portal,Mission Bhagiratha,2BHK housing scheme,and Rythu Runa Mafi.While all these aim at economic welfare,housing etc.,for poor masses,the implementation has been uneven and erratic as BRS workers has been preferred over those having irregular or no sources of income. This has resulted in some pockets of Mahbubnagar not receiving pensions, which is why the entire welfare scheme exercise failed.

Critical gagging: People who have not been able to benefit from the schemes of the state government are scared to voice their opinions against the local MLAs. They fear either being thrashed by local goons or getting thrown into jail under false cases. People feel that there is a hidden gag order that has been put on them from being critical of the local administration or MLA. Some have termed it as the death of democracy and their rights.

Illegal sand mining: The illegal activities in Koilkonda Mandal by the sand mafia in Mahbubnagar district have continued to proliferate despite numerous arrests by police and imposition of penalty by revenue officials. Similarly, rampant illegal sand mining is also underway in Madanapur Mandal of Devarkadra constituency.

Archaeological negligence: Here, a 900-year-old collection of temples belonging to the Chalukyan dynasty have been left uncared for. Apart from these, four of them are located in Polepalli and three in its suburbs that are yet to undergo renovation and maintenance. These would be a center around which Mahbubnagar could change its economic profile; it could transform the state into a spiritual tourism hub. The people of Polepalli understand their importance and are hoping that if they support these temple buildings, it will be possible to turn around the local economy in the area as Mahbubnagar is known for having no industries or government establishments where employment can be obtained.

Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation: This project is one of the most important ones aimed at providing water for both drinking and irrigation purposes in drought-prone areas in Mahbubnagar district. It is being constructed on Krishna river at an estimated cost of Rs 35,000 crore.

IT tower: In 2023, IT Tower for India was officially opened by chief minister KCR; this was the first building of its kind anywhere in India. Nine IT companies have established their bases there so far, making it the largest IT cluster outside Hyderabad with an investment outlay of Rs 40 crore.

KCR Urban Eco-Park: The largest eco-park in India covering 2,087 acres was developed by Andhra Pradesh Government. Construction started in 2018 before it was opened officially two years later. For instance, there are already plans underway to build an aviary within this park with over eight hundred rare bird species as inhabitants.

Hyderabad (Kacheguda)-Raichur-Hyderabad (Kacheguda) train service: Line connecting various backward regions which have no accessibility to trains has been launched recently here. Students who go for school daily will travel with ease, also laborers and hand-loom workers here in Mahbubnagar can get a dint of benefit from this train.

Amrit Bharat station: These are some of the stations where entire infrastructure will be rebuilt to match airport logistics and provide passenger amenities. At a cost of Rs 39.9 crore, the city’s railway station is being reconstructed.

Railway infrastructure: Some projects like the Secunderabad-Mahbubnagar-Dhone section with doubling railway lines have been finished to allow for increased capacity through reduced travel times. There is also emphasis on electrification of lines for faster and sustainable transportation services. Safety first when it comes to construction of road over bridges and limited height subways for removal of level crossings and smooth flow of traffic was paramount in these endeavours. With solar energy used at stations close by as well as led lightings, those coupled with such developments like double power use via sun panel systems at stations are changing Mahbubnagar railways network.