Telangana: Campaigning ends for Huzurabad bypoll

Karimnagar: Campaigning for the October 30 bypoll to the Huzurabad assembly constituency in Telangana came to an end on Wednesday evening.

Though as many as 30 candidates are in the fray, the main contest is among Gellu Srinivas Yadav of the ruling TRS, BJP’s Eatala Rajender and Venkat Balmoori (Congress).

The bye-election has been necessitated due to the resignation of Eatala Rajender in June following his removal from the state Cabinet over allegations of land grabbing.

Rajender, who dismissed the allegations, has quit the TRS and joined the BJP. He is seeking re-election on BJP ticket.

Rajender, a senior leader from the backward classes, had served as the leader of TRS in undivided Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and as minister for finance and health in the TRS regime led by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao since 2014.

The bypoll is a do-or-die battle for Rajender, while it is significant for the BJP as the party aims at emerging as the alternative to ruling TRS in the 2023 Legislative Assembly elections.

It is crucial for the TRS as well as it would like to demonstrate that its dominance in state politics continues unchallenged.

Rajender, who has won the constituency for TRS since 2009, has been canvassing since he quit the seat. Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy, state BJP president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other leaders campaigned in favour of Rajender.

The TRS candidate Srinivas Yadav is a students’ leader of the party, while Congress nominee Venkat Balmoori is state president of the NSUI.

The TRS campaign has been led by senior party leader and state Finance Minister T Harish Rao and other state ministers.

The TRS has attacked the BJP over the rising fuel and LPG cylinder prices, besides other “anti-people” policies of the NDA government at the Centre.

Highlighting the numerous welfare schemes of the TRS government, the ruling party leaders stressed that having a TRS MLA would ensure development and welfare in the constituency.

State Congress president and Lok Sabha member A Revanth Reddy, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and other Congress leaders campaigned for the party candidate.

The Congress leaders appealed to the voters to give a chance to Venkat Balmoori so that he can effectively raise the people’s issues as an opposition MLA.

While there are 1,17,779 male voters in the constituency, the number of female voters is 1,19,093.

Counting of votes would be taken up on November 2.