Though the outcome of the Jubilee Hills bypoll in Telangana will not affect which party remains at the helm in the state, the run-up to the election has been heated and has essentially turned into a fight among the bigwigs of the three major players: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of the Congress, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K T Rama Rao, and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy of the BJP.
While electors seek basic amenities such as clean drinking water, housing, and roads in the constituency, which lies in the heart of Hyderabad and is a mix of plush neighbourhoods and slums, the bypoll has become a prestige battle for the three parties involved. The Jubilee Hills seat, which includes high-profile voters such as Telugu film stars, will vote on Tuesday, with the results to be announced three days later.
For the ruling Congress, the election is being viewed as a test of the people’s faith in the Revanth Reddy government, while for the BRS, it is being seen as a battle for survival. For the BJP, the bypoll serves as a platform to set the narrative in its favour in a state where it is keen to expand its footprint amid the Congress and BRS accusing each other of being its “B-team.”
The bypoll has also brought the spotlight on the 1.4 lakh Muslim voters of the constituency, with the Congress and the BRS doing their bit to get their votes. However, some of these attempts have landed Revanth Reddy and the Congress in a soup.
The Congress’s renewed focus on the community is being seen as a result of non-Muslim voters – most of whom originally hail from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh – preferring to vote for the BRS to show their integration into Telangana’s society. The BRS has fielded Maganti Sunitha, wife of the late Maganti Gopinath, whose death necessitated the bypoll. The BJP, on the other hand, has gone with Lankala Deepak Reddy, who lost the same seat in the 2023 Assembly polls, and the Congress has fielded Naveen Yadav.
“During K Chandrashekar Rao’s two terms (between 2014 and 2023), he and his ministers did not discriminate against Andhra-origin people. In fact, they ensured that we, our livelihoods, and our businesses were protected. So Andhra-origin voters still prefer him and the BRS. This is the reason why the Telangana Congress leaders are going after the Muslim voters,” a BRS leader said.
The Magantis belong to the Kamma community of Andhra Pradesh, who number around 40,000 in Jubilee Hills. Apart from them, the constituency comprises 25,000 people from the Yadav community and around 10,000 from the Kapu community. Gouds and Dalits make up the rest of the electorate.
In the bid to reach out to Muslims, the Congress government first came under attack for inducting party leader and former Indian cricket team captain Mohammad Azharuddin into the Cabinet as Minority Welfare Minister. While the BRS labelled the move appeasement, with KTR claiming it was a “threat”, it led to unease between the Congress and the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM that opted out of the race and extended its support to Congress’s Yadav. “The Majlis (AIMIM) is powerful and has a say in Jubilee Hills. No one can deny that,” said grocery shop owner Md Salim.
Revanth Reddy’s “Congress means Muslims, and Muslims mean Congress” remark at a recent rally has come under attack not only from political rivals but also from within the party.
State BJP chief N Ramachander Rao accused the Congress of “communalising the campaign” and “inciting religious hatred.” “Telangana Congress is playing communal politics. They did not heed to Muslims till now but suddenly Azharuddin was made a minister. The maximum number of incidents of communal violence took place under the Congress’s rule but they are still playing the Muslim card,” he said.
The issue escalated after senior Congress leader and advisor to the Telangana government Shabbir Ali, addressing worshippers at the Masjid-e-Kaneez Fatima in Ameerpet, appealed to Muslims to “recognise the power of their vote and the strength it brings to democracy.” “Your vote is your existence. When you vote, you protect your rights, your representation, and your place in the system. If you stop voting, your strength will fade, and others will decide your future. We are nearly 13% of Telangana’s population, but if we do not vote, our presence does not count. A community that remains silent during elections loses its voice for the next five years,” he said, adding that of the constituency’s 4 lakh votes, 1.3 lakh are Muslims and that is why they “matter so much” to political parties during an election.
The high-profile war of words is not lost on the electorate. While 45-year-old Hanumanth, a mechanic, said the Jubilee Hills election had always been prestigious, 30-year-old service sector employee Syed Hanan asked, “In which other bypoll have you seen the CM, and state and Union ministers campaign relentlessly?”
Another voter said the statements had been politicised and “are of no use in such an election,” while yet another 60-year-old voter, who did not wish to be named, said even though the campaign was for an Assembly bypoll, the Congress and the BJP were “throwing national issues” at each other.
Some, like fruit seller Syed Mirza, hope that the attention “translates into action.” “We hope leaders show interest in us even after the polls,” he said.
