Battlelines drawn for Munugodu poll

Hyderabad: With the three main contending candidates from TRS, BJP and Congress filing their nominations for the Munugodu bypoll on Monday, the political activity has picked up with greater intensity. It is turning out to be Rajagopal Reddy v/s KCR. TRS working president KT Rama Rao, TPCC president A Revanth Reddy and State BJP unit chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar were busy analysing the strengths and weaknesses of their candidates at village level in the assembly segment and working out strategies to outwit each other.

While KTR feels it is a fight between 'ill-gotten money power', (Dhanabalam) of Rajagopal Reddy and 'Janabalam', (power of people) in Munugodu, Minister Jagdish Reddy made a sensational comment saying that if Rajagopal Reddy gives Rs 18,000 crore which he claims to have got in form of contracts they will withdraw from contest. He said it would have been better if the Centre had given that money for development of the constituency instead of benefitting one individual.

The BJP on the other hand said Rajagopal has always been a contractor and what he claimed he got was over a period of eight years. He joined BJP only recently. Reddy challenged KCR to contest the bypoll.

The bypoll will also rain in freebies (revadi) for the local leaders as no party wants poaching of their mandal level leaders by rivals. It is also time for the candidates particularly TRS candidate K Prabhakar Reddy and BJP candidate Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy to take out huge rallies. The Congress is trying to lure local leaders offering important party posts.

TRS sources claim that one strong TRS leader and ZPTC member was lured by the BJP by offering Rs 1 crore. KTR instructed a senior TRS leader to hold talks with that local leader and bring him back into the TRS fold.

Meanwhile, BJP state chief Bandi Sanjay has asked his party men to create special teams in every village to mobilize people during the rallies and public meetings and counter the TRS dominance at field level. BJP wants to attract as many local leaders as possible to the party fold in the coming days.

Congress candidate Palvai Sravanti has also taken up door-to-door campaigns. The TPCC chief constituted village-wise party committees and entrusted them of the responsibility of keeping the flock together. The committees were alerting the party chief about the attempts to poach the Congress leaders by TRS and BJP from time to time.