Secunderabad LS battle – loyalist vs turncoat

(Our Special Correspondent)
Secunderabad: The Union Minister for Tourism and state BJP President G Kishen Reddy is seeking reelection from the prestigious Secunderabad Lok Sabha Constituency. He won the last elections held in 2019 with a comfortable margin against his nearest T Sai Kiran of then Telangana Rashtra Samiti (now BRS) over 62,000 votes.
Kishen Reddy needs no introduction. He has raised from ranks within the BJP Parivar as an ordinary karyakarta later went on to become an MLA from Amberpet in city. He enjoys a spotless political career, who never ever involved in any controversies or for that matter in any scams. He was groomed in the party by former Vice President as well as the party’s national president M Venkaiah Naidu.
On the contrary, his rival this time around, the Congress candidate Nagender, is known as a turn-coat politician. Though he begun his career as a Congress activist and also enjoyed the fruits from time to time, he shifted parties from Telugu Desam and later Bharat Rashtra Samiti, only for personal gains. Thus far, he attained the notoriety of a ‘chameleon’ of par excellence. Secunderabad is one of the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana, is a twin city of Hyderabad. Historically, the constituency has been a stronghold of the Congress party, having won 12 out of 15 Lok Sabha elections and one by-election. However, in the 2019 general elections, the Secunderabad constituency saw a significant shift in power, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerging victorious with a majority of 282,186 votes, with a turnout of 44.84%.
In the upcoming 2024 general elections, the Secunderabad constituency is expected to witness a fierce electoral battle between the BJP’s G. Kishan Reddy, the Congress’s Danam Nagender, and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s (BRS) T. Padma Rao Goud.
Secunderabad, along with the rest of the constituencies in Telangana, is scheduled to go to the polls on May 13, during the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections due to the limited number of seats. Rewinding to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Reddy contested from the Secunderabad constituency and emerged as the winner, receiving 60.87% of the total votes against his closest competitor, Mukesh Dhangar of the INC, who received only 2.55% of the votes.This victory further solidified the BJP’s position in the Secunderabad constituency, and now he is contesting again to retain his seat in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Danam Nagender, a seasoned political figure with an extensive history within the Congress party, has traversed a significant political journey. From his tenure as a Congress MLA representing the Asifnagar constituency from 1994 to 2014, he later shifted his allegiance to the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) in 2018. Securing victories in the 2018 and 2023 elections as an MLA from the Khairatabad constituency, Nagender’s political trajectory took yet another turn as he rejoined the Congress party in preparation for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In a momentous event witnessed by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and AICC Telangana in-charge Deepa Dasmunsi, Nagender announced his candidacy for the Parliament member seat from Secunderabad, challenging Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy.
T. Padma Rao Goud embarked on his political odyssey as a Municipal Councillor within the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. His political prowess was showcased when he emerged victorious in the 2004 Assembly Election from the Secunderabad Assembly constituency. Following a brief hiatus, Goud resurfaced in the 2014 Telangana Assembly Election, reclaiming his seat from the Secunderabad Assembly.
His contributions to governance were recognized when he was appointed to the Cabinet on June 2, 2014. Serving as the Minister of Excise and Prohibition, Sports, and Youth Services of Telangana until 2018, he then assumed the role of Deputy Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly.As the political landscape gears up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Goud is set to contest under the banner of the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), poised to challenge Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy and face off against the Congress’s Danam Nagender in a pivotal electoral showdown.