Hyderabad, Telangana – The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has picked Maganti Sunitha as its candidate for the upcoming by-election in the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency. Party leader and former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, known as KCR, made the final call on Friday.
Sunitha is the widow of Maganti Gopinath, the late BRS MLA whose sudden death earlier this year left the seat vacant. In a party statement, BRS highlighted KCR’s decision as a tribute to Gopinath’s long service to the party and the local community. It also honors the wishes of Jubilee Hills voters.
The choice comes as no big surprise. BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao, or KTR, had already signaled Sunitha’s candidacy in recent weeks. She’s been joining KTR at meetings with party workers in the area, where he’s urged supporters to back her strongly.
The Jubilee Hills by-election in Telangana could happen in late October or early November. So far, the ruling Congress party and opposition BJP haven’t named their contenders, keeping the race wide open.
Gopinath, who was 63, died on June 8 after suffering a cardiac arrest. He served as BRS MLA for Jubilee Hills and led the party’s Hyderabad unit. First elected in 2014 on a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) ticket, he joined BRS and won re-election in 2018 and 2023 – marking a hat-trick victory.
In the 2023 polls, Gopinath beat former Indian cricket star and Congress candidate Mohammed Azharuddin by 16,337 votes. He grabbed 80,549 votes in a crowded field, while Azharuddin got 64,212. BJP’s L. Deepak Reddy came third with 25,866 votes, and AIMIM’s candidate trailed far behind at 7,848.
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