BRS banks on development; BJP, Congress on veteran leaders in Uppal

District: Mechal Malkajgiri

MLA: Bethi Subhash Reddy (Reddy)

Reservation: GEN

Total Voters: 4,98,877

Booths: 407

Urban Voters: 98%

Rural Voters: 2%

Male: 54.2 %

Female: 45.7 %

Caste & Religious Demography

Gen + BC: 88 %

SC: 9%

ST: 2%

Hindu: 87 %

Muslim: 7 %

Others : 6 %

Candidates Profile

Bandari Lakshma Reddy (BRS):

Lakshma Reddy Bandari was born on November 27, 1967 in Mallapur, Uppal constituency. Lakshma Reddy is involved in the construction industry, overseeing and managing various projects related to infrastructure development, building construction, and civil engineering. Lakshma Reddy commenced his political journey with the Congress. His brother Bandari Raji Reddy served as the Uppal Congress MLA in 2009. He contested on a Congress ticket from Uppal in the next election but came third. He joined the TRS (now BRS) party in 2018 and served as the incharge of Amberpet Assembly Constituency. He has now been given the ticket instead of sitting BRS MLA Bethi Subhas Reddy. He is known for being very active on the ground.

M Parameshwar Reddy (Congress):

He was born in 1981 and is a B.Com graduate. He was corporator in Ramanthapur in undivided Andhra Pradesh and is currently the party’s Block A president in Uppal. His wife Rajitha Reddy is serving as a Uppal corporator. He gained prominence during the Covid pandemic.

NVSS Prabhakar (BJP)

Prabhakar started his political journey with the BJP in 1991. He contested for the first time from Uppal in 2009 Assembly elections but lost. He, however, won from the constituency in 2014. Prabhakar served as the manifesto chairman of the Telangana BJP and is also the State vice-president of the party.

Constituency geography

Until the 2009 delimitation exercise, Uppal constituency was part of Medchal. Its jurisdiction extends up to Kapra.

Election Analysis

2014

• Osmania University was the epicenter of the separate Telangana movement. It was partially part of the Uppal constituency.
• Despite the Telangana wave, the TRS lost the Uppal seat due to the alliance between the TDP and the BJP. A good percentage of Andhra Pradesh voters who live in this area voted for the alliance. The year 2014 was also the year of the Modi wave which resulted in victory of NVSS Prabakhar.

2018

• The general perception was that NVSS Prabakhar became a narcissist after winning the seat. The public was extremely disappointed with his leadership, because he would ask everyone to join the BJP. He kept blaming the BRS corporators.
• He was on bad terms with the corporators which led to a lot of pending work leading to poor garbage management and poor drainage system.
• The weaker section cast vote to the TRS hoping to reduce bottlenecks between the GHMC corporators and the MLA.
• Also, support from Bandari Lakshma Reddy & Bonthu Rammohan cadres helped in increasing the vote share of the BRS. In the 2016 GHMC elections, 9 of the 10 corporators were elected from the BRS which verified that Andhra settlers were in favour of electing a TRS leader.
• B Subash Reddy was accessible even though he lost in 2014. He was actively working on public issues and was available on ground from 2001, as he was the Uppal in-charge for the BRS. Uppal has a lot of slums and his proactive approach helped him bag votes due to schemes such as Rs 5 lunch and infrastructure work such as installation of streetlights, continuous power supply and improved drinking water supply.

Current Scenario

BRS: There was infighting between former Mayor Bonthu Rammohan and the MLA B Subash Reddy. In fact, Rammohan also expected an MLA ticket. After being denied a ticket, Subash Reddy defected to the BJP in November 2023.

Congress: Revanth Reddy is a popular figure as he is the MP of the constituency. There is a considerable Reddy population. However, senior Uppal leader Ragidi Lakshma Reddy resigned from the party after Parameshwar Reddy was nominated for the seat. Both Parameshwar Reddy and Lakshma Reddy were fiercely competing to secure the Congress ticket from Uppal and even engaged in brawls frequently. Ragidi Laxma Reddy later joined the BRS along with his cadre.

BJP: After the TDP’s Veerender Goud joined the BJP, the party consolidated its Goud vote bank. The BJP is likely to push its OBC Chief Minister agenda.

Key Local Issues

• Demand for more graveyards to be fulfilled
• Water pollution in Mallapur and Nacharam divisions
• Sewerage issue in Chilukanagar division.
• Incomplete Uppal flyover on the Warangal highway.