Triangular Battle Brews in Zaheerabad Lok Sabha Seat: Advantage Congress

Zaheerabad: The Zaheerabad Lok Sabha constituency is set for a triangular contest with candidates from the Congress, BRS and the BJP going all-out for a win. As things stand, the Congress has an edge as BJP and BRS candidates are struggling to cope with internal and external issues.

The constituency borders Karnataka and Maharashtra and there is a diversity of voters in Zaheerabad, Andole, Narayankhed, Kamareddy, Yellareddy, Jukkal and Banswada Assembly segments.

Twice MP and businessman B.B. Patil has switched over from the BRS to the BJP, hoping to cash in on the Narendra Modi wave and Ayodhya Ram temple issue. Although a native of Sirpur village in Madnoor mandal of Kamareddy district, the Maharashtrian is unable to speak Telugu fluently.

In the 2014 elections, Patil won by a record 1,44,631 votes, which plunged to 6,229 votes in the 2019 elections. The factors going against him were that he is not accessible to the people, lacked communication skills and faced differences among the BRS MLAs. In his favour, he ensured widening of the Sangareddy-Nanded-Akola (SNA) national highway besides bringing several central schemes to Zaheerabad parliament constituency.

Following the downfall of BRS and the anti-incumbency against him, he strategically joined BJP, which rewarded him with the ticket. Apart from the cadre who followed him, he has been getting the indirect support of others from several Assembly constituencies.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Veerappa, a petty trader in Madnoor, said that people were vexed with Patil, even though he was contesting on the BJP ticket as he was never concerned about the welfare of the locals.

Congress candidate Suresh Kumar Shetkar is hopeful that the collective efforts of the party MLAs and leaders would tilt the scales in his favour. As the Zaheerabad MP from 2009-2014, Shetkar took up several developmental programmes. The soft-spoken leader coming from a political family can bank on the fact that four of the seven Assembly constituencies are represented by Congress MLAs —Damodar Raja Narsimha, Patlolla Sanjeev Reddy, K. Madanmohan Rao and Thota Laxmikanth Rao.

The public meeting of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has bolstered the morale of the party cadre, which is working for Shetkar’s win. His rapport with the party leaders and people would yield good results, Shetkar feels.

On the other hand, BRS candidate Gali Anil Kumar has gone about his election campaign. Party trouble shooter T. Harish Rao, MLAs Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and K. Manik Rao and former government whip Gampa Govardhan are seriously working for his win.

Both Patil and Shetkar belong to the strong lingayat community, while Anil Kumar is eyeing the complete support of Munnuru Kapus to which he belongs. With their sizable presence, lingayats hold the decisive edge.

Zaheerabad Parliament constituency - Profile

Total voters: 14,45,246

2019 Results

B.B. Patil (BRS) 4,34,244 (41.58)

K. Madanmohan Rao (Congress) 4,28,015 (40.98)

Banala Laxma Reddy (BJP) 1,38,947 (13.30)

Majority: 6,229

2014 Results

B.B. Patil (BRS) 5,08,661 (46.46)

Suresh Kumar Shetkar (Congress) 3,64,030 (33.25)

K. Madanmohan Rao (Telugu Desam) 1,57,497 (14.39)

Assembly constituencies: Zaheerabad (BRS), Andole (Congress), Narayankhed (Congress), Kamareddy (BJP), Yellareddy (Congress), Jukkal (Congress) and Banswada (BRS)