It is now known that the BRS has lost the Jubilee Hills by-poll to the Congress. Maganti Suneetha was defeated by Congress candidate Naveen Yadav.
The reasons behind BRS’s poor performance and the loss of a seat they previously held seem more self-inflicted than anything else.
Adding to these internal problems the candidate selection itself was widely criticised.
Many felt Suneetha was a weak choice and even the Kamma community, traditionally supportive of the Maganti family, did not stand with her this time.
A large section openly backed the Congress. Party insiders believe that fielding a strong BC Yadav candidate might have changed the dynamic.
The major factor was KCR’s absence from public campaigning. His failure to interact with people has created a strong negative perception.
Whether due to personal or political reasons he has remained largely invisible to the public.
Apart from making rare appearances even before in Assembly simply to fulfil technical requirements he has completely withdrawn from public life and this has hurt the party significantly.
The other factor was the Kavitha issue. What was expected to bring women’s sympathy votes ended up backfiring.
Three people contributed to this and they are Kavitha herself, the mother of late Maganti Gopinath and his first wife.
The perception that a daughter-in-law from the family was pushed out in tears created emotional discomfort among voters.
Allegations that Suneetha’s marriage was not legally valid, internal inheritance disputes and the mother’s claim that KTR and Suneetha were responsible for her son’s death damaged any potential sympathy vote.
Alongside this BRS’s aggressive negative publicity against HYDRAA also misfired.
Many urban voters viewed HYDRAA positively especially after large-scale recovery of encroached lands and visible lake restoration works making BRS’s criticism appear exaggerated.
Another factor was the absence of strategist Harish Rao during the peak of the campaign. Even though he attempted to manage things remotely it did not work.
With Kavitha missing, Harish unavailable, KCR absent and only KTR handling the campaign the effort was simply not enough.
Furthermore the party’s over-focus on attacking Revanth Reddy rather than highlighting development issues diverted attention from their own strengths and failed to resonate with voters.
Importantly when KTR asked voters whether they wanted “the car (BRS) or bulldozer (HYDRAA) rule” Jubilee Hills voters made it clear that they had no objection to Congress’s governance.
This election reflects BRS’s weakening grip on voters. Their strategy now needs to be rebuilt carefully and it remains to be seen how they will respond moving forward.
