Will voters back MIM this time in Rajendera Nagar?

 Hyderabad: The Rajendera Nagar constituency, which was once filled with hamlets and villages located in the outskirts of the city, now boasts of several luxury high-rise projects, and is being eyed by all major political parties in the state.

The constituency has 5.66 lakh voters. Since it has a significant number of Muslim votes, the AIMIM has tried its luck in the constituency by fielding Mirza Rahmat Baig in the 2018 Telangana Assembly election. But he came third. The BRS’s T. Prakash Goud won the seat by defeating his nearest rival Telugu Desam’s Ganesh Renukuntla. The vote share of the BRS was 43.42 per cent, followed by the TD’s 20.16 per cent and the MIM’s 18.55 per cent.

Rajendera Nagar is the only constituency in Hyderabad, where MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi addressed a public meeting and asked the BRS to stay out of the electoral race in the constituency. In other districts across the state, he asked voters to vote for the BRS.

The MIM has two corporators in Rajendera Nagar constituency — one being the  Shastripuram ward  where the  AIMIM chief stays presently and the other is the Suleman Nagar ward.  Though Mirza Rahmat Baig lost in the 2018 election, the MIM chief nominated him as the MLC to strengthen the party’s presence in the constituency.

The BRS has named the incumbent MLA Prakash Goud as its candidate for the ensuing elections. The Congress gave ticket to Kasthuri Narender, while the BJP’s Thokala Srinivas Reddy will fight from his party. The MIM, however, is yet to announce its candidate for the constituency,

This assembly election the fight is all set to get more intense with the BJP fielding Thokala Srinivas Reddy , the present BJP corporator from Mailardevaplly ward.   Srinivas Reddy also fought the assembly election in 2018  from All India Forward Bloc and came fifth.

Going sub-divisions in the constituency, there are five GHMC wards, one municipal corporation (Bandlaguda Municipal Corporation), two municipalities (Narsingi and Manikonda) and one mandal (Shamshabad).

Number of electors: 5.66 lakh

Number of polling stations: 535

Candidates

BRS: T. Prakash Goud (incumbent)

Congress: Kasthuri Narender.

BJP: Thokala Srinivas Reddy

AIMIM: Not announced