Polarisation of votes, Modi magic helped BJP's triumph in Chevella

Rangareddy : On Tuesday, BJP candidate Konda Vishweshwar Reddy (KVR) was declared winner with a whopping majority of 1,72,897 votes for the second time in a decade.

It was in 2014 when Reddy was elected for the first time as Chevella MP. He had lost the seat to pink party candidate Dr Ranjith Reddy in 2019 when he decided to leave the BRS and seek mandate by joining the Congress a second time. However, sailing in the BJP boat this time helped KVR realise his dream of retaining the seat after a failed attempt in 2019.

Of the total 8,09,882 votes polled in favour of BJP this time, nearly five lakh came from three major constituencies such as Serilingampally, Rajendranagar and Maheshwaram which are considered IT hubs of Chevella LS segment.

While Serilingampally offered a whopping 1,78,249 votes, 1,57,701 were polled in Rajendranagar and 1,49,527 in Maheshwaram. Similarly, 93,778 votes in Chevella, 74,024 in Pargi, 67,584 in Vikarabad and 77,654 in Tandur helped the BJP cut the Congress and the BRS to size.

Although the saffron party tried hard and fielded many stalwarts like B Janardhan Reddy and Baddam Bal Reddy in the past to score in this region, it could not succeeded due to strong presence maintained by the regional parties like Telugu Desam and BRS in both undivided AP and Telangana.

According to political analysts, polarisation of politics coupled with extensive campaigning about the Central government-oriented welfare schemes, especially in rural areas, helped the BJP gain ground in the district. Over the last 10 years the party's influence over voters has increased manifold in erstwhile Ranga Reddy district, especially in Chevella and Mahbubnagar LS segments, where Hindu votes accounts for 80-85 per cent of the population.

“The development initiatives taken by the Centre, besides the prevailing Hindutva sentiments leave a significant impact on voters of the district.

They played a crucial role in winning two seats of Chevella and Mahbubnagar which were once considered stronghold of the Congress and then the BRS after the formation of a new State of Telangana,” said Srikanth Swami, BJP councillor in Manikonda municipality.

“Revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, construction of Ram temple in Ayodhiya and Modi's slogan like "Ab Ki Baar 400 Ke Par" are the few things that attracted voters in Chevella where a significant number of voters gave their resounding mandate in favour of the party," he added

A Mahender Yadav, a community activist, said “the BJP consolidated its vote-base in Ranga Reddy district by influencing voters promising them development, revocation of Article 370, construction of Ram temple and implementation of the Hindutva policies in the region.”

He further said the party's unflinching support to the statehood struggle and subsequent formation of Telangana helped consolidate its presence, especially in erstwhile Ranga Reddy district.