Candidate Dies Day Before Telangana Local Polls, BJP Blames Congress

A BJP candidate contesting a local body election in Telangana's Maktal died Tuesday at 4 am.

Erukal Mahadevappa, a tribal member and social activist, was contesting from Ward 6.

The election takes place tomorrow, i.e., Wednesday.

Family members, including Mahadevappa's wife, and BJP supporters said he had been harassed and pressured by local politicians, with the local MLA, the Congress' Vakiti Srihari among those blamed. It has been alleged this pressure became unbearable and led to his sudden death.

It is unclear at this time if Mahadevappa died by suicide.

Formal notification of a cause of death will be released after a post-mortem.

Meanwhile, the BJP's state unit has condemned what called 'blatant political intimidation' by the ruling Congress, and blamed its local leaders for issuing threats against Mahadevappa.

Telangana BJP's chief spokesperson NV Subash claimed Erukal Mahadevappa had died by suicide as a result. "The BJP will not tolerate such coercive and anti-democratic tactics. Our candidate was repeatedly threatened and pushed to take an extreme step. This is not an isolated incident but part of a dangerous pattern," he declared, calling for an impartial and independent inquiry into the death. The BJP, he also said, had no confidence in state police.

"The police are behaving like Congress cadre… they failed to register complaints despite repeated representations from BJP candidates who are facing threats," he alleged.

Subash also had questions for Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.

"If the Congress is confident of winning the election… why this desperation? Is it because the BJP rally in Makthal received unprecedented public support?"

The BJP leader said the party's state leadership stands firmly with Mahadevappa's family and will pursue legal remedies if justice is denied. "With the election tomorrow, this incident exposes the Congress' fear and willingness to undermine democracy through intimidation."

Police have said the investigation is ongoing.