Hyderabad: The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is looking to put all out efforts in the bypoll in the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency by utilizing the services of both the top leaders KT Rama Rao and T Harish Rao, as the party does not want to face the embarrassment of losing yet another sitting seat in the city.

This is going to be the second bypoll in the State after the 2023 Assembly elections and the party does not want to take any chances in this election. Earlier, the BRS lost the sitting MLA seat of Secunderabad Cantonment. The seat which fell vacant after the death of party MLA Lasya Nandita in a road accident, was lost to the Congress candidate Sri Ganesh in the bypoll which was held during the Lok Sabha elections. Now, the Jubilee Hills seat got vacant with the untimely death of MLA Maganti Gopinath. Maganti Gopinath was victorious from this seat for three terms including 2014, 2018 and 2023. There are speculations that the Election Commission may take up bypoll along with the Assembly elections in Bihar.

According to senior leaders, the party does not want to take chances in the ensuing bypoll. A senior leader said that until now the party used to give responsibility either to KTR or Harish Rao but now the party is looking to hand over the responsibility to both of them. The Jubilee Hills constituency has both mass with slums and also rich people including the film industry people living there. The municipal divisions in the constituency include Borabanda, Yerragadda, Vengalraonagar, Yousufguda, Rehmatnagar, Shaikpet and Srinagar Colony.

The BRS leader said that each division will be given to a former minister and they would appoint ward wise leaders for taking up the campaign. The BRS leader recalled that similar strategy was adopted during the Munugode bye election. Sources said that presently the concern for the party is deciding on the candidate. The party is in favour of giving the ticket to Maganti Gopinath’s wife Sunita but it is learnt that she is yet to take a decision. There are few more leaders who are trying their luck to get the ticket. Former MLA P Vishnuvardhan Reddy, who is the son of Congress stalwart P Janardhan Reddy, is also trying for the ticket. He was MLA from this constituency in the past. He had joined BRS before the 2023 Assembly elections.