Jubilee Hills bypoll set to reshape Hyderabad politics: Congress eyes gains, BRS banks on legacy, BJP seeks foothold

HYDERABAD: After a lull of over a year, electoral heat is returning to Hyderabad with the upcoming by-election in the high-profile Jubilee Hills assembly constituency. Triggered by the recent death of BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath, the bypoll—likely to be held well before the Dec deadline—has become a prestige contest for all three major parties: Congress, BRS, and BJP.For the ruling Congress, the bypoll is a chance to open its account in the state capital, where it failed to win a single seat in the 2023 elections. With the party having recently snatched the Secunderabad Cantonment seat from BRS in a by-election held alongside the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, it now hopes to replicate that success in Jubilee Hills.The constituency also holds added significance for the BJP, as it falls under the Secunderabad parliamentary segment, represented by Union minister and state BJP chief G Kishan Reddy.

Cong eyes reshuffleBut the Congress isn’t just eyeing a seat—it’s eyeing a cabinet reshuffle. With no Greater Hyderabad representation in CM Revanth Reddy’s current council of ministers, a win here could open the door for a new face in the cabinet. That has triggered intense lobbying from various castes and communities.Prominent among them are Muslim leaders, who argue that the bypoll gives the Congress a real chance to fulfil its social justice plank.

“There’s not a single Muslim minister in the cabinet, despite our community making up 12.5% of the population,” said a senior minority leader. “Fielding a Muslim candidate here will show the party means what it says—jitni aabadi, utna haq (proportionate representation). Otherwise, the community may drift back to the BRS,” he opined.TPCC working president and former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin, who lost from Jubilee Hills in 2023, is seeking a second shot.

“I never left the constituency and have even filed a case on EVM irregularities,” Azharuddin said. “My entire polling booth network is intact and active,” he claimed.

Many from Congress to selectOther contenders from the minority community include former minister and current advisor Mohd Ali Shabbir, Faheem Qureshi of the Telangana Minor-ities Residential Schools Society, Wakf Board chairman Syed Azmathullah Husseini, Indian Overseas Congress vice-president Numan Mohammed, and Feroz Khan, who narrowly lost from Nampally to AIMIM.From the non-minority side, Khairatabad DCC president and Revanth Reddy loyalist C Rohin Reddy is in the fray. A last-minute seat shift saw him lose from Amberpet in 2023, after ceding Khairatabad to Vijaya Reddy, daughter of former minister P Janardhan Reddy, who is also reportedly eyeing Jubilee Hills. Another contender is Navin Yadav, who has previously contested from this constituency under different banners.A Congress leader confirmed that the high command will take time but finalise the candidate at least two months before the poll notification. With each party reading Jubilee Hills as a political signal to the rest of Hyderabad, this bypoll will shape up to be much more than just a routine contest, a political observer said.