Lok Sabha polls: Why winning Hyderabad is critical for Revanth Reddy

Even though the Congress managed a stunning victory in the Telangana Assembly elections last November, winning 64 out of 119 seats, its performance in urban areas was dismal. This was more pronounced in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area, where it failed to win a single Assembly segment.

Now, Congress has embarked on a strategy to woo back the critical urban voters who deserted it during the Assembly elections in a bid to emerge victorious in the Lok Sabha elections.

Capital zone

GHMC is a sprawling area encompassing 24 assembly seats that fall in the prestigious state capital zone. The area is home to four high-profile Lok Sabha constituencies: Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Malkajgiri and Chevella.

The Malkajgiri Lok Sabha constituency was represented by none other than Chief Minister Anumula Revanth Reddy, who also heads the state Congress. But the Congress could not open its account in this VIP zone during the Assembly polls.

Of the 24 seats in GHMC area, 16 went to the Bharata Rashtra Samiti (BRS) and seven were bagged by the AIMIM. The BJP won the remaining seat.

Urban-rural divide

This urban-rural voter divide has emboldened the BRS leadership to claim that urban voters have rejected the Congress. It began rebuilding the party on this premise and hopes to repeat its showing in the Lok Sabha elections as well.

Realising the need to bridge the rural-urban gap and to restore the Congress hold on the capital zone, Revanth Reddy seems to have devised a strategy to capture all the four Lok Sabha seats in Greater Hyderabad.

Congress strategy

The objective is to attract the BRS strongmen to the Congress before the Lok Sabha battle, depriving K Chandrasekhar Rao's (KCR) party of valued leaders.

If one sees the migration from the BRS to the Congress in recent weeks, one can assume the plan is working.

Former GHMC mayors Teegala Krishna Reddy and Bonthu Rammohan as well as Ranga Reddy Zilla Parishad chairperson Teegala Anitha Reddy have joined the ruling party. This is expected to weaken the BRS in the region.

Weakening BRS

Congress sources say that many more well-known leaders are expected to join it in the coming weeks.

Election strategist Sunil Kanugolu has reportedly submitted a report detailing the current political equations and naming BRS leaders who can influence voters in these four Lok Sabha constituencies.

Based on the report, Revanth Reddy has chalked out a strategy for Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Malkajgiri and Chevella Lok Sabha seats.

Secunderabad, Hyderabad

This is how the two former mayors of GHMC and the Ranga Reddy Zilla Parishad chairman, who were familiar BRS leaders in Hyderabad, switched their allegiance.

Bonthu Rammohan, earlier a loyalist of BRS leader and former Chief Minister KCR, joined the Congress reportedly after being assured that he will be fielded from the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency, where the Congress finished a poor third in 2019. The Congress wants to field a new face from Secunderabad.

Winning the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, where 59 per cent of the population belongs to a minority community, is a herculean task for the Congress. Keeping this in mind, Revanth Reddy is searching for a winning horse from the minority community to be the Congress candidate.

AIMIM bastion

No party has defeated the AIMIM in Hyderabad since 1984, when Salahuddin Owaisi was first elected to the Lok Sabha. Now the seat is represented by his son Asaduddin Owaisi.

Malkajgiri is where Revanth Reddy was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2019. He has to ensure a Congress victory there. The chief minister is being careful while recommending to the leadership a potential candidate for the constituency.

There is no doubt that Revanth Reddy will put huge efforts to win most of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana. In 2019, the Congress won just three. Party sources say the party is aiming to bag 10-12 seats in 2024.

Revanth’s compulsions

Though KCR is known for his political tactics, his BRS has not only lost power but he is also facing charges of corruption in the construction of irrigation projects. Much to his chagrin, his daughter Kavita is facing an inquiry in the Delhi liquorscam.