A Congress-BJP showdown for Nagarkurnool seat
Hyderabad: The Nagarkurnool Lok Sabha constituency may not have made the headlines in the current election season as Medak, Malkajgiri, Hyderabad, Karimnagar or Nizamabad, which either have recognisable faces or have a history of electing VIP candidates, but it nevertheless is set to become a test for how voters perceive each of the three top parties in the electoral fray for polling set for May 13.
The Congress fielded Mallu Ravi, a seasoned campaigner who had won in 1991 and 1998, while the BRS has taken a gamble with R.S. Praveen Kumar, who joined the party just before filing his nomination. The BJP nominated P. Bharat Prasad, son of MP P. Ramulu, who won on a BRS ticket the last time, and joined the BJP in the early stages of the campaign.
The primary contest is expected to be between the Congress and the BJP.
Before Ravi won for the first time as a Congress candidate from the constituency, it was Mallu Anantha Ramulu, who represented Nagarkurnool twice, winning in 1980 in 1989. It was the confidence of a certain victory from Nagarkurnool that also saw Ravi resign as the special representative of the Telangana government in New Delhi to contest the election.
Having won five of the seven Assembly segments in the constituency, and the BRS getting just two, the Congress appears to have some cards in its favour. It is also betting on the fact that Ravi had come second in the 2019 elections, behind P. Ramulu, who had won on a BRS ticket.
With respect to the BJP, the party is hoping that P. Ramulu will be successful shifting support base to the BJP.
Initially, the BRS, which struggled after P. Ramulu, latched on to a proposal from BSP’s Praveen Kumar and was willing to leave the seat to the party. This plan fell through with the BSP’s leadership making it clear that it is not entering into any pre-poll alliances. This resulted in Praveen Kumar quitting the BSP and joining the BRS. Though local BRS leaders say that he is bridging the gap with the BJP in the constituency, the fight appears to be between the BJP and Congress.