Aruna makes Mahbubnagar obtuse triangle

Hyderabad: A triangular contest is imminent in Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha segment as BJP candidate DK Aruna emerged strong contender overnight and give tough fight to the ruling TRS and the main opposition Congress. The two parties have been maintaining a strong-hold in the Reddy-dominated Lok Sabha segment. Interestingly, the contestants from the three parties hailed from the same Reddy community.

TRS sprang a surprise by replacing the incumbent MP A Jithendar Reddy with an industrialist M Srinivas Reddy as its candidate and Congress had fielded young leader Ch Vamshichand Reddy who lost the recently-held assembly elections from Kalwakurthy segment. In 2014 elections, Jithendar Reddy won the seat by a slender majority of 2,500 votes against the Congress senior leader S Jaipal Reddy.

Aruna's entry into the fray has come as a shock to the TRS and Congress which are vying to win the seat considering the strong party network and consolidated vote bank maintained by the two parties for years in the Mahbubnagar parliamentary constituency. In the just-concluded Telangana assembly elections, all the seven segments of Kodangal, Narayanapet, Mahbubnagar, Jadcherla, Devarakadra, Makthal and Shadnagar, which come under the jurisdiction of Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha seat won by TRS.

While Congress stood second position, the BJP forfeited deposits in all assembly segments. The saffron party is maintaining a strong cadre in every village in the MP segment, but the party remained a weak political organisation with the lack of the people's support since 2004. The BJP could win the seat in 1999 elections and the then MP Jithendar Reddy joined the TRS during the Telangana struggle. In 2009 elections, TRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao's won the seat. KCR's victory helped the Telangana party to emerge as a strong political force in place of BJP in the entire Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha segment.

Aruna, who lost the elections from her stronghold Gadwal assembly segment in December 2018, will play a spoilsport for either TRS or Congress contestants, leaders said that the BJP contestant is maintaining her own group in the majority of the assembly segments. It will be a Herculean task for Aruna to emerge victorious but eat away considerable number of voters (who happened to be her followers for years) supporting her rival candidates in the elections.

Considering the outcome of the recently-held assembly elections, TRS has the edge and win the seat with much ease, another group of leaders said that Congress candidate is not strong enough to give a tough fight to the TRS.

Aruna's entry will directly affect the Congress as most of the Congress leaders in the segments are strong followers of the BJP leader during her stay in the Congress. While, the TRS candidate Srinivas Reddy is enjoying the support of all seven MLAs elected from the MP segment. Congress candidate Vamshichand Reddy is getting the support of TPCC working president A Revanth Reddy who holds sway in Koadngal and Jadcherla. "Poll management will play a key role for the victory of any party in the triangular contest," a senior leader averred.