Despite the efforts of district Collectors serving as District Election Officers and a few aspiring candidates eyeing the Warangal, Khammam, and Nalgonda Graduate MLC constituency to ensure registration of more graduate voters, there is subdued response among graduates for the upcoming election.
Various factors are being attributed to this, including limited campaigning efforts by political parties, particularly the ruling Congress and the main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Political sources suggest that the current enrolment may not reach three lakh voters. In contrast, the 2021 registration witnessed a total of 5,05,565 citizens across the constituency, spanning 34 Assembly constituencies in 12 districts. The graduate voter strength has seen a significant rise from just over 2.81 lakh in the 2015 elections to surpassing 5.05 lakh in 2021.
BRS leader and former chairman of Telangana Vikalangula Co-operative Corporation, Kethireddy Vasudeva Reddy, who is planning to contest from the constituency as the BRS candidate, has been actively advocating for graduate registration by touring various locations under the constituency. “I have already visited several places in both the composite Nalgonda and Warangal districts. I will tour Khammam on Tuesday,” he told The Hindu.
Meanwhile, another BRS leader Anugula Rakesh Reddy, who switched his loyalties to BRS from BJP just before the Assembly elections, has also thrown his hat in the ring for the seat. He visited Khammam on Monday further intensifying the electoral landscape. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has initiated the election process for members from the Graduates’ constituency following the resignation of MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy who won the Jangaon Assembly constituency on behalf of BRS.
Graduates have been urged to register as voters for the Graduate’s MLC constituency election by February 6, with both online and offline registration options available through Form-18. The draft rolls will be displayed on February 24, and objections will be entertained till March 14. The final electoral rolls for the MLC graduates’ election are slated for publication on April 4. In the previous election, a total of 71 candidates contested from this Graduate MLC constituency.
