MLC byelection today; Congress, BJP, BRS locked in 3-way race

HYDERABAD: Nearly a fortnight after elections to 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, the stage is set for polling to the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda

Graduates' MLC constituency

from 8am to 4pm on Monday.
Election Commission has made all arrangements for the smooth conduct of the by poll to the Graduates' MLC constituency.

As many as 52 candidates are in the fray and over 4.63 lakh graduate voters would decide their fate.

The polling would be held through ballot paper and not electronic voting machines.
The MLC constituency is spread over 34 assembly constituencies in the three erstwhile districts, where the ruling

Congress

has a majority of MLAs.

MLC polls a prestige battle for key parties
Though there are 52 candidates in the fray, the main contest is likely to be between Congress, BJP and

BRS

nominees. The MLC constituency was won by BRS in 2021. The bypoll was necessitated following resignation of BRS sitting MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy after he won the Jangaon seat in 2023 assembly polls.
Chintapandu Naveen, popularly known as Teenmar Mallanna, from Congress, G Premender Reddy of BJP and A Rakesh Reddy of BRS are the three main contenders among the 52 contestants.

Important leaders from Congress, including ministers, BJP state president G Kishan Reddy and Eatala Rajender and BRS working president K T Rama Rao and former minister T Harish Rao campaigned for their respective party candidates. For the ruling Congress, it is a matter of prestige to win the bypoll and has gone all out to impress upon the graduate voters in the constituency. BJP and BRS too are confident of winning the seat as BJP had secured fourth place pushing the Congress to fifth spot in the 2021 election. BRS had won this seat then.
However, political equations have changed since the people voted Congress to power in the state in 2023 assembly polls.
In 2021, Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) chief Kodandaram also contested the poll and finished third. The present Congress candidate Teenmar Mallanna had secured second place as an independent candidate then.