Congress cracks urban Hyderabad code with Naveen Yadav’s Jubilee Hills bypoll success

Hyderabad: The Jubilee Hills by-election victory of Congress candidate V Naveen Yadav is a crucial win for the ruling party in an urban segment in Hyderabad. Naveen Yadav won the seat with a margin of 24,729 votes.

The victory of the 41-year-old Naveen Yadav, who was handpicked by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, is being seen as a personal win. CM Revanth was a part of roadshows and corner meetings, reaching out to people to vote for the young candidate.

The connection was drawn across all the classes of society by reaching out to everyone.

What did the party adapt to create the win?

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Goud reached out to senior leaders of the party and conveyed their suggestions to the leadership and to the chief minister’s office.

This was seen throughout the campaign days, as many people came to meet him and the CM.

Addressing Muslim representation

With 33 per cent Muslims in the constituency, strong feedback was given by the Congress workers to the leadership.

Due to this feedback, Mohammed Azharuddin was made a Cabinet minister in the CM Revanth-led government. The development was closely followed by the voters of Jubilee Hills, as they had been instrumental in giving their feedback to the party.

The Yadav factor

Naveen Yadav and his family, including his father Chinna Srisailam Yadav, have been politically connected in the Rahamath Nagar area of Shaikpet and Yousufguda localities for over one and a half decades. This strong local connection played an important role in the constituency.

Political pundits state that Congress is strongly portraying the issue of Backward Classes (BC) in the state and selecting a BC leader and ensuring his success plays a major role for the party to plan their stakes in the next elections.

Youth factor

Naveen Yadav has a lot of local youth following him who were also a part of his campaign at the booth level. Apart from the leaders who came from different parts of the city and state to Jubilee Hills, there were many young and middle-aged men and women who came out to support him.

Role of AIMIM

Naveen Yadav had contested on an AIMIM ticket in 2014 and is close to the AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi. The presence of Owaisi during his nomination rally and at the masjids around Shaikpet and Borabanda areas played a role in garnering votes.

Presence of three cadres

In the case of Naveen Yadav, there were not only Congress and AIMIM cadre but also corporators who switched from BRS to Congress after December 2023. This also made a section of the former BRS cadre work for Naveen Yadav on the ground.

High-octane campaign

Congress and the BRS campaign saw a major slugfest of words. There were two major press conferences by CM Revanth during the campaign, appealing to people to vote for Naveen Yadav.

The results: Naveen Yadav secured 98,988 votes, defeating the BRS candidate, Maganti Sunita Gopinath (the deceased MLA’s widow, who ran on a ‘sentiment card’), who polled 74,259 votes. The BJP’s L Deepak Reddy finished third with 17,061 votes. The Congress enjoyed a lead in all seven divisions of the constituency.

Road ahead: The Jubilee Hills results set the political footprint for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections in Hyderabad. This will make the Congress look at the urban political landscape of Hyderabad with renewed vigour.