Jubilee Hills Bypoll: A Glamour Seat That Could Redraw Hyderabad’s Political Map

Jubilee Hills is one of Hyderabad’s most upscale localities, often compared to Delhi’s Lutyens’ Zone or Mumbai’s Bandra for the way it blends political, business, and cultural power.

Nestled between Banjara Hills and HITEC City, it sits on elevated ground with leafy avenues, sprawling villas, and gated communities that house some of the city’s most influential families, film stars, politicians, and business leaders. The Telugu film industry’s presence is unmistakable here, with production houses, celebrity homes, and the Film Nagar locality giving the area a distinct glamour.

Elections are thus the last thing that one thinks of when it comes to this area. But 2025 is different, and a bypoll in this assembly constituency has assumed a lot of significance due to its timing and the prevailing political situation in the state.

The bypoll, for which the dates have not been announced yet, was necessitated by the death of Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) MLA, Maganti Gopinath. Since his passing away in June due to a heart attack, this high-profile seat has turned into a high-stakes battle for all the major parties, the Congress, the BRS and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The seat, however, has more than what the popular imagery says about it. Also comprising areas such as Erragadda, Borabanda, Yousufguda, Rahamat Nagar and Shaikpet, the assembly constituency is as diverse as it gets. Apartment clusters, middle-class neighbourhoods, and lower-income settlements exist alongside luxury real estate.

This social and economic mix makes its politics layered. Issues of urban infrastructure, traffic, and civic amenities matter as much here as aspirations tied to Hyderabad’s growth as an IT hub.

With all sections of society well represented, it is a good location to read the mood of the state two years into Revanth Reddy’s government.

Congress Is Jittery

Normally, ruling parties cruise to victory in bypolls, especially when held soon after an assembly election. That was the case in Secunderabad Cantonment in 2024, where Congress candidate Narayan Sri Ganesh defeated his BRS rival Niveditha Sayanna.

But Jubilee Hills is a different terrain. The Congress has been weak in the Greater Hyderabad region, drawing a blank in the 2023 Assembly elections. The BRS held its ground in the city even as it lost the state, with Gopinath winning Jubilee Hills by over 16,000 votes.

The Congress’s gamble of fielding cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin did little to dent the BRS, while the BJP finished third with 14.1 per cent of the vote.

Today, two years into power, the Congress is struggling with dissatisfaction across different sections. Welfare beneficiaries are unhappy with patchy delivery, the Musi river clean-up has displaced thousands, and the HYDRAA initiative has unsettled property owners.

The arrest of actor Allu Arjun after a stampede at a theatre also left the film industry rattled, forcing Chief Minister Reddy into repeated outreach efforts.

Sensing the stakes, the government has rushed to sanction municipal works in the constituency. But indecision over a candidate persists. A Muslim nominee could consolidate the constituency’s approximately 30 per cent Muslim population, and potentially become a minister in the state cabinet as the community is currently not represented in it.

However, this also risks a counter-polarisation by Hindus already upset with the government over the demolition of the popular Peddamma Talli temple in nearby Banjara Hills.

What is giving the Congress some comfort is that the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is backing it this time, unlike in 2023 when, according to political commentators, it fielded a candidate to split votes and help the BRS, with which it has enjoyed a good relationship.

The AIMIM holds sway in the constituency, especially over the poorer section amongst Muslims. In 2014, when the party put up a Hindu candidate, Naveen Yadav, it secured 25 per cent of the votes.

BRS Seeks to Prove Its Relevance

For the BRS, Jubilee Hills is about survival in the city. Having lost the Secunderabad Cantonment bypoll, the party is desperate to show it has not ceded Hyderabad to the Congress. A win here would reinforce K Taraka Rama Rao’s (KTR) image as the urbane, tech-savvy leader with strong ties to the IT sector.

The party also needs a breather after months of internal turmoil. The expulsion of K Kavitha following her allegations that her father KCR was being misguided by certain corrupt leaders in the party, like her cousin T Harish Rao, undoubtedly shook the organisation.

Success in Jubilee Hills would show that the BRS remains resilient despite these cracks and its poor showings in the 2023 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

BJP Eyes Growth Under a New Leader

For the BJP, the bypoll is less about winning and more about making a statement under its new state president, N Ramchander Rao. Considered a lightweight compared to his predecessors Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, Ramchander has faced pushback from within, with Goshamahal MLA T. Raja Singh even resigning in protest.

A substantial rise in vote share would give Ramchander the credibility he needs to consolidate his position and prepare the party for bigger contests in the city. The Jubilee Hills result will thus be watched closely within the BJP as a measure of whether it can grow beyond its traditional strongholds in Hyderabad.

The Jubilee Hills bypoll has therefore become much more than a routine election. It will test whether the BRS can avoid irrelevance, whether Revanth Reddy’s Congress can recover lost goodwill, and whether the BJP can make its mark under a new state president.

Above all, it will show which way the political winds are blowing in Telangana as the city heads into the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) poll, which is where the next big battle lies.

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