As Telangana gears up for the Lok Sabha polls on May 13th, it’s also focused on another election within the state: the bypoll for the Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly Constituency seat. This bypoll comes as a result of the passing away of the incumbent, G. Lasya Nanditha, who secured victory for the seat in the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections.
The assembly constituency, comprising a little over 2.51 lakh voters, will engage in dual voting on the same day, exercising their right to vote to elect both their Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and their Member of Parliament (MP).
The inaugural election for the cantonment constituency took place in 1978, that saw B. Machinder Rao of the Janata Party emerge victorious for the seat in the aftermath of the Emergency declared by Prime Minster Indira Gandhi. Subsequently, in the 1994 election, G. Sayanna of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) secured the win and also emerged victorious until 2009. P. Shankar Rao, representing the Indian National Congress (INC), claimed victory in the 2009 election. Following the establishment of Telangana in 2014, G. Sayanna reclaimed victory for the TDP. In the subsequent 2018 election, he contested under the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) banner, retaining the seat until his death in February 2023. In the 2023 Telangana Assembly Elections, the BRS party nominated Sayanna’s daughter, G. Lasya Nanditha, for the seat, and she emerged triumphant.
In the forthcoming bypoll, there are two new faces among the candidates: G. Niveditha representing the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and T. N. Vamsha Tilak from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). On the other hand, Narayanan Sri Ganesh, contesting for the Indian National Congress (INC), is a known face in within the cantonment. All the three candidates have submitted their nominations. According to the affidavits available on ECI website, none of them have any criminal cases pending against them.
G. Niveditha, a 2005 B.Tech graduate from JNTU Hyderabad, has disclosed movable assets totaling ₹85.43 lakh and no immovable assets. She carries a liability of ₹80.68 lakh. Mr. Sri Ganesh declared movable assets amounting to ₹10.87 crore and immovable assets valued at ₹1.47 crore, with a liability of ₹5.22 crore. Dr. Vamsha Tilak, with an MBBS degree, possesses movable assets valued at ₹21.62 lakh and immovable assets worth ₹4 crore. His wife, B. Malliswari, also a doctor, holds the position of Deputy District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) in Siddipet district and is presently on deputation working in Hyderabad.
