BRS hits ground early for Greater Hyderabad battle

MAHESH AVADHUTHA | Hyderabad 

Even before rival political parties fully return to campaign mode after the recent local body elections, the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi appears to have switched gears and hit the ground early. The pink party has quietly begun laying the groundwork for what could become the next major political contest in Telangana, the elections to the key municipal corporations in the Greater Hyderabad region.

At the centre of this renewed mobilisation is BRS Working President K. T. Rama Rao, who has already initiated a series of constituency level review meetings. Last week, he held interactions with party leaders and cadre from Sanathnagar and LB Nagar Assembly constituencies, signaling the beginning of a wider organisational exercise across the state.

The meetings are not mere routine reviews. According to party leaders, the BRS leadership is planning a structured assembly wise engagement programme involving everyone from MLAs and constituency incharges to booth level committees. The focus is clear, reconnect with the grassroots network, energise cadre and prepare the organisation for an intense political phase ahead.

Interestingly, KTR chose to launch this exercise from Greater Hyderabad constituencies. Political observers see that as significant. The next major electoral battle in Telangana is widely expected to be the elections to the trifurcated civic bodies in and around Hyderabad, namely the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation and Cyberabad Municipal Corporation.

Though the Congress government has not officially announced the election schedule, political circles are abuzz with speculation that polls to these premier civic bodies could be held towards the end of 2026. The term of the erstwhile GHMC elected body ended in February this year, making the civic elections one of the most anticipated political contests in the state.

While the BRS is not openly declaring an election campaign yet, the intent behind the organisational push appears unmistakable. KTR himself has repeatedly reminded party leaders during recent speeches that they must prepare for the corporation elections and strengthen the party structure at every level.

For the BRS, the stakes are high. After suffering defeat in the 2023 Assembly elections, the party views the Greater Hyderabad region as politically crucial terrain. Despite being out of power, the BRS leadership believes the party managed a respectable performance in the recent local body polls against what it described as the “might of the ruling Congress.”

The upcoming corporation elections are therefore being seen as more than civic polls. They are emerging as a political litmus test ahead of the next Assembly elections. The ruling Congress wants to consolidate its urban gains, the BJP sees Hyderabad as its expanding base and the BRS hopes to reclaim lost momentum in its traditional urban strongholds.

BRS MLC Dasoju Shravan confirmed that the assembly level meetings would not remain confined to Hyderabad alone and would soon expand across Telangana districts. Apart from energising the cadre, the party also plans to focus on membership drives and closely monitor the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls to ensure eligible voters are not left out.

For now, the BRS may not be officially sounding the poll bugle. But its early organisational activity suggests the party has already begun preparing for a long political battle, one booth, one constituency and one corporation at a time.

TRS key leader Erolla Srinivas said that BRS leadership, through these assembly constituency level meetings, will be fully alert on the S.I.R drive. Fake voters should go, but at the same time our focus will be ensuring no eligible voter name is removed from the list post this exercise.