The voting for by-election to Telangana Legislative Council seat representing Warangal-Khamman-Nalgonda graduates’ constituency began on Monday. A total of 4.63 lakh graduates from 34 assembly constituencies in the former Warangal, Khammam, and Nalgonda districts are eligible to vote in the election. According to the officials, the polling which started at 8 AM would continue till 4 PM.
This by-election was called after the resignation of the sitting BRS MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy as he was elected to the Assembly from Jangaon constituency on November 30, 2023.
The election features a contest among 52 candidates with the main competition expected to be between the Congress, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Congress party has nominated Chinthapandu Naveen (a) Teenmar Mallanna. The BJP has fielded G Premender Reddy while A Rakesh Reddy is the candidate for the BRS.
The bypoll is important for Congress since it aims to establish that it still enjoys the support of graduates. It may also be recalled that one of the party’s key promises during the Assembly elections was to provide jobs for unemployed youth. The Congress has assured voters that it is committed to filling two lakh vacancies by the end of 2024.
The three major candidates were once part of the BJP. Just before the Assembly elections, Rakesh Reddy switched to the BRS after being denied a ticket for the Warangal constituency. In a similar way, Teenmar Mallanna left the BJP to join Congress shortly before the Assembly polls.
The vote counting will take place on June 5.
