Mahbubnagar and Malkajgiri — two Lok Sabha seats Revanth Reddy will be keen on winning for the Congress

Congress aims to win 14 out of 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, focusing on Mahbubnagar and Malkajgiri.

Fresh off a resounding victory in the 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress is hoping to win 14 out of Telangana’s 17 Lok Sabha seats in the forthcoming parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on May 13.

While the party is sitting pretty in at least eight to nine seats, two seats in particular — Mahbubnagar and Malkajgiri — will be two ‘must-win’ seats in the eyes of the Congress leadership, given the close connection that Chief Minister and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A. Revanth Reddy has with these constituencies.

While Mahabubnagar is Mr. Revanth Reddy’s native district and from where he started his political career, first winning as a Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC), the Malkajgiri seat is also of significance for him as he had held this seat till being elected as Chief Minister in 2023. A victory for the party in both these seats will further stamp his authority on the party, as it is Mr. Revanth Reddy’s influence and popularity that is expected to draw votes, rather than the candidates themselves.

Mr. Revanth Reddy, who is keenly aware of this, is pulling out all the stops to ensure victory. He has held the most number of public meetings in Mahbubnagar constituency, and has also been regularly visiting Malkajgiri constituency.

The Congress faces a stiff challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is giving it a serious fight in both constituencies by fielding some big names. In Mahabubnagar, the BJP has fielded D.K. Aruna, a known face in Telangana politics with an impressive resume. First entering the Assembly in 2004 on a Samajwadi Party ticket from Gadwal, she later shifted to the Congress from where she won two more terms in 2009 and 2014.

Ms. Aruna’s father, Ch. Narsireddy, was an MLA as well as her brother Rammohan Reddy, who recently lost as the BRS candidate in Makthal. Her husband’s elder brother D.K. Samarasimha Reddy was a Congress stalwart in the 1980s and 1990s, known for his iron grip on the district, while her nephew Bandla Krishnamohan Reddy is the present MLA from BRS.

Incidentally, her husband D.K. Bharatsimha Reddy was elected as an independent MLA in 1994 from Gadwal constituency defeating his own brother. Ms. Aruna moved over to the BJP before the 2019 elections, losing the Mahabubnagar seat to the BRS candidate Mannem Srinivas Reddy. However, she came second leaving the Congress much behind.