Congress, BRS & BJP brace for face-off in Rajanna Sircilla

Karimnagar: Election campaigns have intensified in Rajanna Sircilla district with the ruling Congress and Opposition BRS and BJP stepping up their efforts for the upcoming municipal elections in Sircilla and Vemulawada municipalities where 283 candidates are contesting.

According to election officials, candidates are contesting in 39 wards in Sircilla and 28 wards in Vemulawada. Officials stated that 170 candidates competed in Sircilla, while this number was 113 for Vemulawada. The competition is held in a total of 67 regions across two municipalities.

Officials said the contest appeared to be more intense than in previous municipal elections, where five districts won unanimously. This time, election symbols were distributed to all candidates in alphabetical order. The presence of many rebel candidates from major parties increased the intensity of the contest.

Within BRS, party working president KT Rama Rao has largely confined his campaign activities to his constituency, Sircilla municipality. While senior leaders often campaign across regions, his focus on Sircilla stood out; Some party workers elsewhere expressed dissatisfaction with the limited support.

During the local campaign, Rama Rao adopted a door-to-door approach, going through several wards. In the newly merged Jyothi Nagar Colony (Ward 1), he interacted with residents and listened to their grievances and assured them of action if his party came back to power.

Vemulawada municipality has also witnessed increased political activities. The town had earlier elected a BJP president for the first term and a BRS president for the second term, adding interest to the third term contest.

Local MLA and Government Whip Aadi Srinivas is leading the Congress campaign by highlighting the recent development work at the Rajanna Temple. BRS is trying to consolidate its position by appointing leaders from other parties. Despite being in the municipality before, the BJP is facing internal differences among local leaders and party sources admit this could affect the party’s future.

Elections in both municipalities are turning into a three-way contest between Congress, BRS and BJP. However, all three parties are interested in rebel candidates who cannot get tickets and are running as independents.

An incumbent BJP councilor in Sircilla’s Ward 10 resigned from the party and joined the fray as an independent after being replaced by a new candidate. BRS is also facing a similar situation in the same ward.

Political observers said the presence of independent candidates with strong local roots could split traditional vote banks and potentially narrow the margins of victory for official party candidates.