Gajwel, a constituency located 65 kilometers away from Hyderabad, gained attention in 2014 when Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now Bharat Rashtra Samithi) decided to run for office there. He won with 44% of the votes and a margin of 19,391 votes. This victory led him to become the first Chief Minister of Telangana. Since then, Gajwel has become a VIP constituency and has seen significant development, including the construction of a ring road.
In the 2018 Assembly polls, KCR retained the seat with 60% of the votes and a larger victory margin of 58,290 votes. The runner-up in that election was Vanteru, who ran as a candidate for the Congress party but later joined BRS in 2019. It is worth mentioning that KCR’s farmhouse is also located in this constituency.
Gajwel also holds a unique record as a bellwether constituency. The political party that wins this Assembly seat has gone on to form the government in every election since 1983. This streak has been maintained in the last nine elections.
In the 1983 elections, Allam Sailu of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) won the seat when it was reserved for scheduled castes (SC). This was the first election for TDP, which quickly rose to power after its formation. TDP held onto the seat in 1985 before losing it to Congress in 1989. Since then, TDP, Congress, and TRS have each won the seat twice in a row during their respective times in power. Gajwel became a general seat in 2009.
The upcoming 2023 Telangana Assembly polls on November 30 will determine whether Gajwel can maintain its status as a bellwether seat. KCR is running again, aiming for a third consecutive term as MLA and Chief Minister. He is also running from the Kamareddy constituency this time. Interestingly, no individual has secured a third consecutive term as MLA from Gajwel since 1952. However, Gajwel Saidiah of Congress won it three times in 1962, 1972, and 1978.
This year’s election in Gajwel holds more significance as KCR is facing Eatala Rajender of the BJP. Eatala was once a close confidante of KCR and a senior minister in his Cabinet but joined the BJP after being removed from the Telangana Cabinet in 2021 due to allegations of land grabbing. Eatala is also running from Huzurabad, bringing the political rivalry between him and KCR to KCR’s home turf. Congress has fielded Narsa Reddy, who previously won from Gajwel in 2009. With a three-way contest, this election promises to be interesting, and the results will be known on December 3.
