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

 Karimnagar: Election campaigning intensified in Rajanna Sircilla district as the ruling Congress and Opposition BRS and BJP stepped up efforts for the upcoming municipal elections in Sircilla and Vemulawada municipalities where 283 candidates are in fray.

According to election officials, candidates are contesting 39 wards in Sircilla and 28 wards in Vemulawada. Officials said 170 candidates are in the fray in Sircilla, while the number for Vemulawada was stated as 113. The contest is being held for a total of 67 wards across the two municipalities.

Officials noted that the contest appears more intense than in the previous municipal elections, when five wards recorded unanimous victories. This time, election symbols have been allotted to all candidates in alphabetical order. The presence of a large number of rebel candidates from major parties has added to the intensity of the contest.

Within the BRS, party working president K.T. Rama Rao has largely confined his campaign activities to Sircilla municipality, his home constituency. While senior leaders usually campaign across districts, his focus on Sircilla has drawn attention, with some ground-level party workers elsewhere expressing dissatisfaction over the limited outreach.

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

Vemulawada municipality has also witnessed heightened political activity. The town has previously elected a BJP chairperson in the first term and a BRS chairperson in the second, adding interest to the third-term contest.

Local MLA and Government Whip Aadi Srinivas is leading the Congress campaign, highlighting recent development works at the Rajanna Temple. The BRS is seeking to consolidate its position by inducting leaders from other parties. The BJP, despite its earlier presence in the municipality, is facing internal differences among local leaders, which party sources acknowledge could affect its prospects.

The elections in both municipalities are shaping up as a three-cornered contest among the Congress, BRS and BJP. However, all three parties are dealing with rebel candidates who were denied tickets and are contesting as independents.

In Sircilla’s Ward 10, a sitting BJP councillor resigned from the party and entered the fray as an independent after being replaced by a new candidate. The BRS is 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, potentially narrowing victory margins for official party nominees.