Minister of state for home Kishan Reddy will be touring Dubbaka to canvass for BJP candidate Raghunandan Rao, clearly showing that the party has taken the byelections quite prestigoulsy and the national party’s efforts to make inroads into Telangana.
Kishan Reddy said the central home ministry will deploy special police observers and central forces to ensure free and fair polls in Dubbaka.
Kishan Reddy will be leaving Hyderabad at around 9 am and participate in a meeting show at Bhoompalli X Roads between 11 to 12.30 pm.
Subsequently, MoS for Home will leave to Siddipet to attend another meeting at around 1.30 pm and later reach Dubbaka to take part in a meeting at 4.30.
In all the meetings, Kishan Reddy will sit with local BJP leaders to discuss the poll strategy and the issues that need to be highlighted.
Dubbaka byelection is scheduled for November 3.
Kishan Reddy had already complained to the State and Central Election Commission. He also spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the Siddipet incident where BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar was arrested and the police conducted searches at the residences of Raghunandan Rao’s kin and seized more than Rs 18 lakh cash.
While the BJP accused thr police of planting the cash, and alleged that due diligence was not followed in conducting raids at the BJP leaders house, Siddipet CP vehemently denied the same. Police said that the cash was meant for influencing voters, in view of the election.
Later in the day, BJP State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar was taken into preventive custody by the police as he reached Siddipet from Karimnagar in support of Raghunandan Rao.
TRS appears to be confident in retaining the seat by fielding Solipeta Sujatha, wife of S. Ramalinga Reddy, whose death in August caused the vacancy. The TRS is banking in sympathy vote.
The Congress has fielded Srinivas Reddy, son of former state minister Cheruku Muthyam Reddy.
Chief Minister and TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao exuded confidence that the party’s candidate will win one lakh margin, while Harish Rao is leaving no stone unturned by camping in Dubbaka for the last several days and intensified the poll campaign by reaching out to voters in his own inimitable style.
He is tearing into the opposition camp with his fiery speeches and aggressive rhetoric.
On its part, the saffron party is making all out efforts to upset the TRS chances and wrest the seat from the pink party. It will be interesting to see how things will pan out. As things stand, battle lines have been drawn with the TRS and the BJP flexing muscles to prove a point.
