New equations between political parties might be witnessed in the ensuing MLC elections under MLAs quota in Telangana, to be held on March 20, 2024. The image is used for representative purposes only.
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The poll schedule for five Legislative Council seats under the MLAs quota in Telangana has thrown up the need for new friendships between the political parties if they have to win an additional seat, when their current strength of MLAs is considered.
The five MLC vacancies
The elections will be held on March 20, 2025 to fill up the five vacancies arising due to the completion of the terms of Mahmood Ali, Satyavathi Rathod, Seri Subash Reddy and Yegge Mallesham (all from BRS) and Mirza Riyaz ul Hassan from the AIMIM.
Each candidate has to poll 20 first preferential seats to get elected as an MLC, The second preferential votes will gain importance if a sixth candidate is fielded.
MLAs strength of parties
Congress with 65 MLAs will comfortably win three seats and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) with 28 MLAs (after 10 MLAs shifted to Congress) is poised to win one seat. The remaining one seat will have to be contested by the Congress or its new ally All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the latter being the favourite to contest with the help of the ruling party.
SC’s directions to have huge impact
The Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) can also take the risk of contesting the second seat if it considers that the Supreme Court might come up with some positive direction on the 10 BRS MLAs who shifted to the Congress. To escape disqualification, the MLAs might be forced to vote for the official BRS candidate if the Supreme Court decides a date for the Speaker to take action against them before March 20.
While the Congress, BRS and AIMIM can play their cards to extract a seat more than their potential , the BJP with eight MLAs will be a loner as Congress and AIMIM would never ally with it. The BRS too cannot risk its image fearing being branded as pro-BJP if they were to take BJP’s support for the second candidate
The Supreme Court’s directions on defections will, however, have a huge impact on the outcome of the poll result.
Congress – MIM
The AIMIM is likely to seek the fourth seat from the Congress that has 66 MLAs support including the CPI MLA. Transferring the 10 defected MLAs votes will help the MIM apart from the second preferential votes.
In return, the MIM is likely to help the Congress candidate in the MLC seat arising out of Hyderabad Local Authorities Constituency with the term of MS Prabhakar Rao ending on May 1, 2025. Voters for this seat include 84 GHMC corporators, 15 MLAs, two MPs (all falling in the Hyderabad district) apart from two Rajya Sabha members and MLCs who opt to vote to in Hyderabad.
The standing committee elections of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), where both Congress and MIM allied to win 15 posts, is an indication of the likely poll tie-up between the two parties. The BJP and BRS with their strength could have given a good challenge but the BRS stayed away with the fear of being branded as an ally of the BJP. If BJP and BRS maintain distance in MLC elections too, the Congress candidate can easily win this seat [Hyderabad Local Authorities Constituency] with the MIM support.
Sources said that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi will discuss and sort out, given their personal understanding.
Meanwhile, Congress is seeing intense lobbying in New Delhi with senior leaders like T. Jayaprakash Reddy, Mohd Azharuddin, Madhu Yaskhi Goud and Sampath Kumar, with good connections in New Delhi, putting in all efforts to get their names cleared. Former MP Anjan Kumar Yadav is weighing his chances under the Backward Classes (BC) quota but his son Anil Yadav is already a Rajya Sabha member. Young leaders like Sama Ramamohan Reddy are also hopeful of getting a nod since Rahul Gandhi is promoting young leaders as was seen in the selection of Balmoori Venkat as MLC and Anil Yadav as MP after Congress came to power.
The BRS that would win one seat comfortably has many aspirants including Dasoju Sravan Kumar and Manne Krishank with the support of the party’s working president K.T. Rama Rao.
Published – February 26, 2025 01:22 pm IST
