Hyderabad: Eatala Rajender, Bharatiya Janata Party candidate for Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat won the seat with a huge margin of over 3.9 lakh votes against Congress candidate Patnam Suneetha Mahender Reddy.
According to the ECI data, Rajender secured 991042 votes winning with a margin of 391475 against Congress candidate Suneetha who secured 599567 votes. BRS candidate Ragigi Laxma Reddy was the 2nd runner-up getting 300486 votes.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won eight out of 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana while the Congress also won eight. The AIMIM won one seat while the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which lost power in Assembly elections recently, failed to open account.
The BJP had won four seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election while the ruling BRS had bagged 9 seats and Congress won three seats. AIMIM had retained one seat.
Reacting to his massive victory, Eatala Rajender took to X in a post saying, "Heartfelt thanks to the people of the constituency, party workers, leaders, fans and representatives of various communities. Narendra Modi blessed me with a huge majority of 3,91,665 votes and gave their full support to the Bharatiya Janata Party in Malkajgiri constituency with the determination to make Shri @narendramodi the Prime Minister for the third time. I promise once again that I will surely fulfill every word and every promise given with the cooperation of the Central Government".
2024 contest: Patnam Suneetha Mahender Reddy (Congress) vs Eatala Rajender (BJP) vs Ragidi Laxma Reddy (BRS)
The counting for the Malkajgiri parliamentary constituency is underway, This segment stands out for several reasons. It boasts the highest number of voters in the country, with a staggering count of 3.74 million, including 1.93 million men and 1.81 million women. Dubbed as "Mini India," it celebrates cultural diversity, drawing residents from all corners of the nation. Additionally, it houses one of the largest military cantonments in India.
Formerly represented by Telangana Congress Committee president and current chief minister A Revanth Reddy, the constituency now sees a different political landscape. Interestingly, though Congress is in power in the state, all MLAs elected for the seven assembly segments under Malkajgiri — Malkajgiri, Medchal, Quthbullapur, Kukatpally, Uppal, LB Nagar, and Secunderabad Cantonment — belong to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Sunitha, the Congress candidate, brings significant political experience to the table. She has served twice as the zilla parishad chairperson for Ranga Reddy and once for Vikarabad district. Sunitha, married to veteran politician Patnam Mahender Reddy, made the transition to Congress in March, swiftly securing the party's ticket for the Malkajgiri parliamentary seat.
Sunitha's candidacy benefits from her alignment with the ruling party and leverages Revanth Reddy's influential presence. The chief minister, who previously represented Malkajgiri, has made winning this seat a matter of prestige, embarking on an extensive campaign across the constituency.
In contrast, BRS candidate Ragidi Laxma Reddy lacks Sunitha's seasoned leadership and faces the challenge of being on the opposition side. While sharing the same surname, Laxma Reddy's political experience pales in comparison. He only recently joined BRS after a stint as a minor leader in the Congress since 2009. Despite his late entry into the race, pressure from BRS leadership compelled Laxma Reddy to contest.
Laxma Reddy's advantage lies in the unified support from the seven BRS-affiliated MLAs in the constituency. With the backing of BRS working president KT Rama Rao's concentrated efforts, Laxma Reddy aims to secure victory in the upcoming election.
Recent elections have seen intense competition with varying results. In 2019, Revanth Reddy emerged victorious with a narrow margin, securing 38.63% of the votes. This was a close contest as TRS's Marri Rajashekar Reddy secured 37.93% of the votes, and BJP's Naraparaju Ramchander Rao garnered 19.47%.
2024 Polling: The total number of registered voters in this constituency in 2024 polls was 3779596, and the seat saw a voting turnout of 50.78% (1919131 total count of votes), according to the Election Commission’s data. The seat went to polls in phase 4 on May 11, 2024.
The shift in dominance is evident when we look at the 2014 elections, where Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) Chamakura Malla Reddy won with 32.30% of the votes, defeating TRS's Mynampally Hanmanth Rao, who obtained 30.54%. The Congress, represented by Sarve Satyanarayana, secured 14.42%. The 2009 elections also showcased a similar trend, with Congress's Sarvey Sathyanarayana winning 32.21% of the votes, defeating TDP’s T. Bheemsen, who secured 24.47%. This fluctuation in dominance among Congress, TDP, and TRS, with the emergence of the BJP as a significant player in recent years, indicates an evolving political landscape.
