KCR Finalises Maganti Sunitha for Jubilee Hills Bypoll
Wife of late Maganti Gopinath named as party candidate
HYDERABAD: The BRS on Friday announced Maganti Sunitha Gopinath as its candidate for the byelection to the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency. The formal announcement came from party president and former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.
The byelection was necessitated following the passing away on June 8 this year of Maganti Gopinath, who represented the constituency as its MLA from the BRS. According to a news release from the BRS, Chandrashekar Rao decided to field Gopinath’s wife Sunitha as the party candidate in recognition of the late MLA’s services to the people in the constituency and the respect he earned as their representative in the Assembly. The decision was also taken in view of the public opinion in the constituency to select Sunitha as the BRS candidate, the press release added.
Friday’s announcement, though formally made, was expected, as the BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao had made it clear that the party would field Sunitha for the bypoll. Chandrashekar Rao’s call on the candidate came after he met with Rama Rao, senior BRS leaders T. Harish Rao, Sabitha Indra Reddy, Md Mahmood Ali, and T. Padma Rao Goud among others at his farmhouse in Erravalli village in Siddipet district.
The BRS’ nomination of Sunitha follows in the party’s tradition of fielding candidates from the family of a sitting MLA in a byelection. Previously, the BRS fielded in the 2023 elections Lasya Nanditha, daughter of G. Sayanna, party MLA from Secunderabad Cantonment, who had passed away earlier that year. In the 2021 byelection to the Nagarjunasagar constituency, the party had fielded Nomula Bhagat Kumar, son of Nomula Narasimhaiah the MLA from the party after his passing in December 2020.