Former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin

Hyderabad: After a close rectangular contest, Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi’s sitting MLA Maganti Gopinath triumphed the Jubilee Hills seat, defeating Mohammad Azharuddin.

In the meantime, BJP’s Lankala Deepak Reddy secured the third spot in the contest.

While the BRS reaffirmed its support to Maganti Gopinath, who has been an MLA twice before, as their candidate. Gopinath previously won as a TDP candidate in 2014. On the other hand, the Congress party selected former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin, to run for the same seat. The competition became even more intriguing when the AIMIM decided to rope in Mohammed Rashed Farazuddin as their candidate from the constituency.

Anumula Revanth Reddy

Hyderabad: Anumula Revanth Reddy, whose political trajectory has surged from student activism with the ABVP to a brief period of incarceration amid allegations of bribery, now finds himself on the brink of a potential chief ministership.

The 56-year-old Congress leader is known among fellow politicians, partymen and people for his never-say-die attitude.

A fierce critic of BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, Reddy, the Telangana Congress chief, is often the target of virulent political attacks by the BRS and the AIMIM.

The BRS leaders attack him for changing parties, with regard to the 2015 ‘cash for vote’ case in which he was arrested and for allegedly being the “agent of” TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi targets him over his ABVP background.

Reddy, who was briefly in BRS (then TRS) was first elected to a political office in 2006 when he was successful in a Zilla Parishad election. He was elected as a Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) member then as an independent.

He was elected to the legislative council in undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2007 as an independent.

Reddy had joined the TDP and became a confidante of party chief and former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu.

Reddy, a graduate in arts, was elected to the Legislative Assembly on a TDP ticket in 2009 and later in 2014 when Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh.

He faced the biggest challenge of his political life in 2015 when he was allegedly caught on camera trying to bribe a nominated MLA to vote in favour of the TDP in a legislative council election.

He was sent to a jail in Hyderabad but was released after he secured bail.

Revanth Reddy lost the 2018 Assembly poll to the BRS candidate and remained in political wilderness for a while.

He quit the TDP and joined the Congress in 2017-18 in the presence of party leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi.

Reddy was elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2019 elections from Malkajgiri here, described as a ‘mini-India’ in view of the presence of people from all over the country in the constituency.

Reddy was appointed the PCC president in 2021 in spite of being a junior in the Congress. This has led to a heartburn among many seniors in the state Congress unit.

He had the unenviable task of reviving the fortunes of the Congress amid challenging circumstances and succeeded in bringing together the party leaders.

The ruling BRS was at the pinnacle of its power and glory after a resounding victory in the 2018 Assembly polls and 12 Congress MLAs joining the ruling party in 2019.

The Congress continued to face setbacks as the BJP scored major wins in the bypolls to two Assembly constituencies and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) election during 2020 and 2021 after Bandi Sanjay Kumar took over the reins of the BJP in Telangana.

Undaunted, Reddy continued to lead the party in the face of stiff challenges and the Congress in Telangana saw a change in its fortunes after the Karnataka elections in May this year.

After the momentum generated following the Karnataka win, the graph of Congress rose further in Telangana in view of a perception among people and political circles about an alleged tacit understanding between the BRS and the BJP, especially with regard to allegations against MLC and CM KCR’s daughter Kavitha in the Delhi excise policy case.

Reddy, a football lover, who is considered to be close to Rahul Gandhi and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, could well become the chief minister in view of the Congress coming out on top in the Assembly polls.

Raipur: Incumbent  Chhattisgarh Chief Minister  and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel has handed over his resignation to the Governor, following his party’s defeat in the state elections

Chhattisgarh CM and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel hands over his resignation to the Governor following the defeat of Congress in Chhattisgarh 

New Delhi: With the Assembly election results throwing up surprises, most exit polls got the outcome in Chhattisgarh and the scale of the BJP’s win in Madhya Pradesh wrong.

Only India Today-Axis My India, Today’s Chanakya and India TV-CNX had predicted a big victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh.

Many pollsters, however, got their prediction for the Telangana and Rajasthan polls right.

The BJP tightened its stranglehold in the Hindi heartland with big victories in the Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh polls, while the Congress is set to oust the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) from power in Telangana.

According to the Election Commission (EC), while the BJP is projected to win 54 seats and the Congress 35 in Chhattisgarh, in Rajasthan, the saffron party is set to win 115 seats and the Congress 69.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP is set to win 165 seats and the Congress 64. In Telangana, the Congress is poised to win 64 seats, the BRS 39 and the BJP eight.

Elections to five states, including Mizoram, took place between November 7 and November 30 and the counting of votes for four states was taken up on Sunday.

The poll results for Mizoram will be declared on Monday.

In Madhya Pradesh, while Dainik Bhaskar had predicted 95 to 115 seats for the BJP and 105 to 120 seats for the Congress, India Today-Axis My India had said the saffron party would get 140 to 162 seats and the Congress between 68 and 90.

India TV-CNX had also predicted a landslide victory for the BJP, pegging the number of seats at 140 to 159 and 70 to 89 for the Congress. Today’s Chanakya had predicted that the BJP would get up to 163 seats while the Congress’s tally would be between 62 and 86.

While the Jan Ki Baat exit poll had predicted that the BJP would get 100 to 123 seats and the Congress 102 to 125, Republic TV-Matrize had given 118 to 130 seats to the saffron party and 97 to 107 seats to the Congress.

TV9 Bharatvarsh-Polstrat had said the BJP would get 106 to 116 seats and the Congress between 111 and 121. Times Now-ETG had given 105 to 117 seats to the BJP and 109 to 125 seats to the Congress.

Jist-TIF-NAI had said the Congress had an edge in Madhya Pradesh, just like in 2018, and predicted 107 to 124 seats for the party as against the BJP’s tally of 102 to 119 seats.

In Rajasthan, India Today-Axis My India had hinted at a tight race, predicting 86 to 106 seats for the Congress, 80 to 100 seats for the BJP and nine to 18 seats for others.

While Dainik Bhaskar had given 98 to 105 seats to the BJP and 85 to 95 seats to the Congress, Jan Ki Baat had forecast that the saffron party would get 100 to 122 seats and the Congress between 62 and 85.

TV9 Bharatvarsh-Polstrat had predicted 100 to 110 seats for the BJP and 90 to 100 seats for the Congress in Rajasthan. Times Now-ETG had predicted 108 to 128 seats for the BJP and 56 to 72 seats for the Congress in the desert state.

Today’s Chanakya got it wrong, giving a simple majority to the Congress, projecting that it would get 101 seats as against the BJP’s tally of 89.

While India TV-CNX had put the Congress’s tally at 94 to 104 in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly and the BJP’s at 80 to 90, Republic TV-Matrize had given 115 to 130 seats to the saffron party and 65 to 75 seats to the Congress.

P-MARQ pollsters gave 105 to 125 seats to the BJP and 69 to 91 seats to the Congress.

Jist-TIF-NAI had predicted that the revolving-door tradition would continue in Rajasthan and said the BJP would bag 110 seats and the Congress 70.

For Chhattisgarh, while ABP News-C Voter had predicted 41 to 53 seats for the Congress and 36 to 48 seats for the BJP in the 90-member House, India Today-Axis My India had forecast 40 to 50 seats for the Congress and 36 to 46 seats for the BJP.

India TV-CNX had forecast 46 to 56 seats for the Congress and 30 to 40 seats for the BJP.

News 24-Today’s Chanakya was off the mark in Chhattisgarh, predicting that the Congress would secure a clear majority with 57 seats (plus-minus eight) while the BJP would get 33 seats (plus-minus eight).

According to Jan Ki Baat, the BJP would get 34 to 45 seats and the Congress between 42 and 53.

Dainik Bhaskar had also predicted a Congress victory, putting the party’s tally at 46 to 55 seats as against the BJP’s 35 to 45 seats.

For Telangana, while India TV-CNX had forecast 63 to 79 seats for the Congress, 31 to 47 seats for the BRS, two to four seats for the BJP and five to seven seats for the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Jan Ki Baat had forecast that the Congress would get 48 to 64 seats, the BRS would get 40 to 55 seats, the BJP would get seven to 13 seats and the AIMIM between four and seven seats.

Republic TV-Matrize had predicted that the Congress would get 58 to 68 seats in Telangana, the BRS would get 46 to 56 seats, the BJP four to nine seats and the AIMIM five to seven seats. TV9 Bharatvarsh-Polstrat had said the Congress would get 49 to 59 seats, the BRS 48 to 58, the BJP five to 10 and the AIMIM six to eight.

News 24-Today’s Chanakya had predicted a clear victory for the Congress, giving the party 71 seats against 33 of the BRS and seven of the BJP.

Hyderabad: Three BJP Lok Sabha members from Telangana who contested the assembly elections lost the polls on Sunday.

However, three Congress Lok Sabha members and a BRS MP, who fought the state election, emerged victorious.

BJP national general secretary and Lok Sabha member Bandi Sanjay Kumar lost from Karimnagar, while the BJP’s Nizamabad MP D Arvind was defeated in Koratla.

Another BJP Lok Sabha member from Adilabad Soyam Bapu Rao lost the assembly election from the Boath constituency.

State Congress president A Revanth Reddy, who is the Lok Sabha member from Malkajgiri, won from Kodangal. He also contested from Kamareddy seat but lost.

Congress Lok Sabha members Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and N Uttam Kumar Reddy won from Nalgonda and Huzurnagar, respectively.

BRS Lok Sabha member from Medak Kotha Prabhakar Reddy won from the Dubbak assembly segment.