KCR's bastion Gajwel awaits mouth-watering contest with BJP's Etela Rajender

Assembly: Gajwel Constituency

Parliament: Medak

District: Siddipet

MLA: K Chandrashekar Rao (Velama)

MP: Kotha Prabhakar Reddy (Reddy)

Reservation: GEN

Total Voters: 2,56,639

Booths: 321

Urban Voters: 8%

Rural Voters: 92%

Male: 50.31 %

Female: 49.68 %

Caste & Religious Demography

Gen + OBC: 80.20 %

SC: 18.40%

ST: 1.40 %

Hindu: 92.20%

Muslim: 6.20%

Others : 1.6%

Constituency information

MLA Profile

Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao (BRS)

Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao (born 17 February 1954), popularly known as KCR, served as Telangana's first and current Chief Minister since June 2, 2014.

KCR, the founder of the BRS party, began his political career with the Youth Congress Party in Medak district. Rao joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1983 and contested against A Madan Mohan and lost the elections.

He won four consecutive Assembly elections from 1985 and 1999 in Siddipet. From 1987 to 1988, he worked as Minister of Drought & Relief in Chief minister N. T. Rama Rao's cabinet

He was appointed TDP convener for Medak, Nizamabad, and Adilabad districts in 1990. He served as Transport Minister in Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu's cabinet in 1996. He also served as the deputy speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly from 2000 to 2001.

He was sworn in as Telangana's first Chief Minister in 2014 and was re-elected for a second term in 2018. He is now contesting for a third time in the Telangana Assembly Elections.

Thumkunta Narsareddy (Congress)

Thumkunta Narsareddy is a Telangana politician who was elected to the Gajwel constituency in 2009. In the 2014 elections, Narsa Reddy contested unsuccessfully on a Congress ticket against TRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao, who went on to win the seat, defeating his nearest rival Vanteru Pratap Reddy of the TDP. Narsa Reddy was persuaded to join the BRS after K Chandrasekhar Rao took over as the newly formed State's first Chief Minister. He was appointed Chairman of Road Development Corporation after he joined the BRS.

The BRS suspended Thumkunta Narsa Reddy from his position as Chairman of the Telangana State Road Development Corporation, a day before he joined the Congress party. In October 2018, Narsa Reddy joined the Congress in the presence of AICC President Rahul Gandhi in Delhi.

Etela Rajender (BJP)

Etela Rajender, who began his career as a student leader with a Left-wing ideology, was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Kamalapur Assembly constituency in the 2004 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election.

He defeated the incumbent MLA Muddasani Damodar Reddy. He served as the TRS floor leader in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. He resigned as the MLA in 2008 and was re-elected as an MLA from the Kamalapur constituency in the 2008 by-election.

He was elected to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from the Huzurabad constituency in 2009, after the Kamalapur constituency was merged with the Huzurabad Assembly constituency in 2009. In 2010 he resigned as the MLA and won the by-election.

He was appointed Finance Minister of Telangana in the first K. Chandrashekar Rao ministry in 2014, and he served until 2018.

In 2018, he was re-elected as the MLA from Huzurabad constituency and took office as the Minister of Health for Telangana in 2019.

In May 2021, Etela, his followers, and Jamuna Hatcheries were accused of land encroachments in Achampet and Hakimpet villages in Medak district. He was removed from their ministerial portfolio and was subsequently dismissed from the State cabinet.

On June 4, he resigned from BRS, then on June 12, he resigned as MLA, and joined the BJP on June 14th, 2021. He's contesting again this year in Telangana Assembly Elections from Gajwel assembly constituency.

Geography

The Gajwel assembly constituency was SC reserved prior to delimitation in 2008. The constituency includes Gajwel town, Tupran, Kondapak, Jagadevpur, Wargal, and Mulug Mandals, with 129 Gram Panchayats as part of these four mandals.

Background

The INC has won the seat six times in the past, while the TDP has won it three times.

Tumkunta Narsa Reddy, an INC candidate, won the general constituency after it became a general constituency in 2009.

BRS chief KCR won the constituency in the 2014 and 2018 elections.

The constituency is projected as the country's model constituency. The city boasts an outer ring road, a 150-bed super speciality hospital, an integrated education hub, a Gajwel market, drinking water taps, auditoriums, and individual integrated offices, all infrastructure projects developed since 2014

Personal Background

KCR holds an MA in Telugu literature from Osmania University, Hyderabad.

Political Background

KCR started his political journey as a youth congress leader, transitioning to the TDP in 1983, but lost his first election from the TDP party. He won four consecutive Assembly elections from 1985 to 1999 by contesting from the Siddipet constituency.

During his tenure with the TDP, he played a crucial role in training party cadres and enhancing the organization's strength. KCR resigned from the TDP after he failed to secure a ministry position in the CBN government following the 1999 cabinet expansion. In 2001, he founded the TRS party with the aim of achieving Telangana statehood.

KCR emerged victorious in the 2004 Assembly and General Elections as a TRS candidate in the Siddipet state assembly and Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency.

He resigned as an MLA to become a union minister in the UPA government. He successfully won the MP elections, general and by-elections held between 2006 and 2013.

In 2014, KCR emerged victorious as the Medak MP and Gajwel MLA. Following his victories, he resigned as Medak MP and assumed charge as the Chief Minister of Telangana.

Profession: Farmer and Politician

Financial Strength: Very Strong

2014 Assembly Constituency Analysis

In the 2014 Assembly Elections, KCR won the constituency with a significant margin of 19,000 votes, outperforming TDP candidate Pratap Reddy Vanteru, who received 67,303 votes. Tumkunta Narsa Reddy, the sitting MLA of the INC, secured the third position with 34,000 votes.

Pratap Reddy, a prominent TDP leader, received substantial backing from Backward Class(BC) voters. TRS secured votes by leveraging Telangana movement, KCR's personal image, and attracting voters from Congress's core support base, including Muslims and SCs.

2018 Assembly Constituency Analysis

Vanteru Pratap Reddy, previously with the TDP, switched to INC in the 2018 Assembly Elections and contested against KCR.

Narasa Reddy, a former INC candidate who briefly joined the TRS after the 2014 elections, re-joined the INC in the 2018 elections and supported Pratap Reddy.

KCR emerged victorious in a closely watched contest with a significant lead of 57,000 votes, surpassing Pratap Reddy's 67,150 votes in the 2014 Assembly Elections as he did in the 2014 Assembly Elections.

The younger demographic in the constituency supported Pratap Reddy. KCR successfully attracted support from both INC and TDP's core voter bases, further strengthening his dominance in the constituency.

KCR made significant investments in the development of the Gajwel constituency, which yielded positive results during the 2018AE. Notably, Vanteru Pratap Reddy re-joined TRS before the 2019 General Elections (GE).

Current Situation

The Assembly constituency currently favors KCR, and many projects initiated during the previous term are nearing completion and are ready for inauguration.

The BJP is capitalising on youth discontent and restlessness over unemployment and other major issues in this area.

The BJP and Congress's youth wings are actively participating in the constituency, with the INC enhancing its activities in recent times. As many as 200,000 people attended the grand rally held by the TPCC's in Gajwel constituency.