As Congress continues to lose its prominent and prominent leaders in the city, BJP and TRS have benefited from poaching. Congressional resurgence hopes in the Twin Cities are only dwindling.
As of today, Congress has only three GHMC area corporators and not one MLA out of the 24 constituencies in Greater Hyderabad. Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency is represented by AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi, Secunderabad parliamentary constituency by Union Minister G Kishan Reddy.
The only consolation for the Congress is that the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat is represented by its state chairman A Revanth Reddy.
Former HUDA President D Sudheer Reddy Won Against LB Nagar & Former Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy of Maheshwaram Assembly constituencies respectively on Congress tickets in 2018 election, however, shifted their loyalties to TRS along with 10 other party lawmakers to merge CLP into TRSLP in June 2019.
Congress lost ground in Greater Hyderabad to other prominent leaders like ex MLA M Bikshapathi Yadav of Serilingampally constituency who also left Congress and joined BJP ahead of GHMC elections in 2020.
Former Mayor Banda Kartika Reddy, who was denied a Secunderabad assembly ticket in 2018 polls, also joined the BJP. AICC spokesman Dasoju Sravan, who unsuccessfully contested from Khairatabad in 2018, also left the Congress, first to join the BJP and within days, joining the TRS. Marri Shashidhar Reddy’s most recent outing has only revealed that even the leaders are losing faith in the party’s ability to win elections.
Although Congress also got P Vijaya Reddydaughter of P Janardhan Reddy, of Khairatabad constituency when she left TRS to join Congress, political analysts said that both BJP and TRS have made significant gains on the political front in Greater Hyderabad at the cost of decline of the grand old party.
The problem for the Congress in the city is that in many constituencies like Sanathnagar, veterans of the party have not allowed the growth of second-rate leadership. And the challenge before Congress is to stop further exodus from the party.
Former Greater Hyderabad Congress Unit Chairman and former Secunderabad MP Anjan Kumar Yadav told TOI that not in all cases, but in some cases like that of Marri Shashidhar Reddy, the party and cadres were just happy that if had gone.
“Leaders like Shashidhar Reddy have not done well for the growth of the party,” he said.
