TRS strategy pushes Eatala on backfoot

Hyderabad: With Huzurabad emerging as the hotbed for politics in the State and as different players, the BJP, Congress and YSRTP deciding to contest the bypoll, TRS has worked out a three-pronged strategy to ensure that the pink party retains the seat.

While Finance Minister T Harish Rao has been entrusted with the task of poll management at ground level, KTR has constituted teams to assess the mood of the people, and party president KCR is said to be focussing on whom to admit in the party and whom to avoid.

This strategy seems to have made former minister Eatala Rajender wary and it is likely that he may opt out of the contest and instead pave the way for his wife Jamuna. The comments made by Jamuna on Sunday that it does not matter whether she contests, or her husband has given speculation to the possible change in the BJP strategy.

A peep into the ground situation in Huzurabad revealed that Harish Rao has been holding series of meetings with local leaders and was trying to see that internal bickering in the party were put on the backburner so that the rank and file works unitedly for the victory of the party candidate.

Sources said KTR has been constantly monitoring the reports from special teams deployed by him to feel the pulse of the voters and was also taking care of the social media campaign. KCR is guiding the leaders on whom all to admit in the party in the poll bound old Karimnagar district.

He has also asked KTR and Harish to try and poach the former close aides of Eatala. A group of Rajender's followers have already shifted their loyalties to the ruling party and a few more are in touch with the TRS leaders.

They are likely to join the party after the poll notification was issued, a senior leader said.

One of the big catches for the TRS from BJP could be Huzurabad BJP in-charge E Peddi Reddy. Congress in-charge P Kaushik Reddy had already quit the party and will be joining TRS in about a week's time.

According to the party leaders, L Ramana, who recently migrated from TDP to TRS, would help in consolidating about 26,000 voters from the Padmashali community.

Senior TRS leader K Srihari is likely to be given the responsibility to woo the voters from the Scheduled Castes consisting 45,000 out of 2.26 lakh voters in the constituency. BC Welfare and Civil Supplies Minister G Kamalakar has been made responsible to consolidate nearly 29,000 voters from the Kapu community.

TRS feels that the new entrant Sharmila and her party would lose deposit if it contests the polls.