Telangana: BC Sentiment Fails to Influence MLC Polls
"Despite strong efforts by BC organizations, the BC sentiment failed to impact Telangana MLC elections, with Reddy candidates securing key victories. Read the full analysis."
Hyderabad: The much-anticipated BC (Backward Classes) sentiment failed to translate into electoral success in the recent MLC (Member of Legislative Council) elections in Telangana.
Despite the concerted efforts of BC organizations to rally behind community candidates, aspirants from other communities secured two out of the three contested MLC seats.
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Election Results: A Mixed Outcome for BC Candidates
In the recently concluded elections:
- Chinnamile Anji Reddy won from the Karimnagar-Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad Graduates constituency.
- Pingili Sripal Reddy, President of PRTUTS (Progressive Recognized Teachers’ Union of Telangana State), secured victory in the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda Teachers segment.
- Malka Komaraiah, a BJP candidate from the Karimnagar-Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad Teachers constituency, emerged victorious. Although he belongs to the BC community, no other political party fielded candidates for this seat.
Why This Election Was Different
Unlike previous MLC elections, this time, political parties treated the contest as a major political challenge, prioritizing victory. Candidates launched their campaigns months in advance, recognizing the high stakes involved. However, the election narrative took a dramatic turn with the release of a caste census, which indicated a decline in the BC population.
This revelation triggered strong reactions from BC organizations, who were already dissatisfied with major political parties for not giving tickets to BC candidates in the elections. The community’s anger culminated in a call for BC voters to reject non-BC candidates and ensure representation from their own community.
Caste Dynamics and Political Polarization
The BC voter mobilization effort was further intensified by Congress MLC Teenmar Mallanna (Chinthapandu Naveen). He not only opposed the caste census results but also challenged Reddy candidates to “win without BC votes.” His remarks sparked backlash from Reddy associations, leading to police complaints being filed against him in various stations.
In response, BC campaigners highlighted a crucial political disparity—while Reddys make up only 5% of Telangana’s population, they hold 43 MLA seats and 10 MP seats. Despite their dominance in legislative bodies, political parties continued to prioritize Reddy candidates for MLC tickets, further alienating BC organizations.
How Voter Polarization Affected the Results
Though it remains unclear how many BC voters actually supported BC candidates, political analysts observed a strong internal consolidation among Reddy voters. Reports suggest that, irrespective of party affiliations, Reddys strategically cast their first and second preference votes in favor of their community candidates.
This polarization had a major impact on the election outcome, particularly in the Karimnagar Graduates constituency, where BSP candidate Prasanna Harikrishna initially appeared to have a strong chance of winning.
During the first round of priority vote counting, Harikrishna secured 60,419 votes and was expected to benefit from second-priority vote transfers. However, the polarized voting patterns led to his elimination in the second preference count, crushing his chances of victory.
