Ahead of the Jubilee Hills Assembly Constituency election on Monday (November 10, 2025), election officials are leaving with EVMs and other election materials to their respective polling stations. | Photo credit: RAMAKRISHNA G
By-elections in Telangana over the last five years have become a barometer for measuring the popularity of parties and the constituency in Jubilee Hills constituency will undergo a similar test.
As the polls open on Tuesday (November 11) morning, they will not only decide MLAs but reshape the future of the three political parties in Telangana as well as top politicians whose strengths will be closely watched by their bosses in Hyderabad and Delhi.
The three main rivals — Congress, Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — have already made it a high-voltage drama. It would be appropriate to say that this contest is between Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy rather than contestants.
For the Chief Minister or the Union Minister, the result may not pose an immediate threat, but for Mr. KT Rama Rao, it will be a test of his leadership as he not only has to retain his seat but also prove his leadership skills in the absence and silence of BRS Chief K. Chandrashekhar Rao.
This election also comes in the wake of his sister K. Kavitha’s exit from BRS, strained family relations and revealed how people would judge this unpleasant family shake-up. Although she did not participate directly in the campaign, her outbursts against the BRS leadership are certainly a worrying factor in what is expected to be a close fight.
The constituency has more than 4 million voters, one-third of whom are Muslims, who will decide the fate. The entire campaign narrative created by Congress, BRS and BJP also hovered around the same. The Congress introduced Mohd. Azharuddin to Revanth Reddy’s cabinet while the BRS continued its spree of attracting Muslim leaders at the ward level.
Initially anti-Congress and BJP for development, the BJP’s campaign took on a Hindu-Muslim narrative with the entry of Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay. The minister’s stormy speeches focused on polarisation.
However, the low turnout of urban voters in the previous elections has worried the Congress and the BRS even though they have hatched plans to increase it to around 55% from the usual average of 45%. The Congress aimed to get every 100 voter groups to appoint a trustee, while the BRS activated all its strengths. The BJP is confident of retaining its vote share.
The MIM’s all-out support for the Congress candidate may tip the balance, given that this election has turned into a Hindu-Muslim affair.
Published – 10 Nov 2025 21:18 IST
