Hyderabad: In a surprising twist that has set political circles abuzz, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday announced N. Goutham Rao as its candidate for the upcoming election to the Telangana Legislative Council from the Hyderabad local authorities' constituency. The election, scheduled for April 23, 2025, was announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to fill the vacancy left by M.S. Prabhakar Rao.What makes this development particularly intriguing is the current political landscape. Only corporators from the 15 Assembly constituencies of Hyderabad district are eligible to vote in this election, totaling 116 registered voters, including 81 corporators and 35 ex-officio members. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) holds a strong position with 49 votes, comprising 40 corporators, seven MLAs, one MP, and one MLC. The Congress follows with 13 votes, bringing the combined strength of AIMIM and Congress to 62—five votes beyond the crucial majority mark. In contrast, the BJP and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) together command 54 votes. However, the BRS has already declared its intention to stay out of the contest, leaving the BJP to make a bold move by fielding a candidate.