By-election: Which way will Congress vote swing?

Huzurabad: Even though the Congress had secured nearly 35 per cent of votes in the election to Huzurabad Assembly constituency held in 2018, where does it stand in the ensuing by-poll? Right from the day Eatala Rajender joined the BJP, the contest has been seen as a battle between the ruling TRS and the saffron party. The BJP which failed to secure at least one per cent vote in the 2018 election to Huzurabad is seen as TRS' major opponent to reckon with. It may appear strange but true when the candidate is a heavyweight like Eatala, the cadres will rally around him and the party will also garner the support of the people.

The Congress had a massive setback when its leader Padi Kaushik Reddy jumped ship to join the TRS as soon as Eatala quit as MLA, following his differences with Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. with no alternative, the Congress had to search for a candidate to field. However, the likes of former minister Konda Surekha from neighboring Warangal district had shown some interest to get into election fray, the Congress leadership fielded the NSUI State president Balmoor Venkat, who belongs to erstwhile Karimnagar district. However, the Congress leadership is confident of performing well in the by-poll based on its vote bank.

"While the TRS and the BJP were campaigning at a '5G speed', the Congress chose to stay in 'flight mode'. In fact, the leadership took a long time to finalise its candidate. It will have its impact as the party started its campaign on a delayed note. Like anywhere in the State, the Congress has its permanent vote bank in Huzurabad also, but the party failed to fill the vacuum created by Padi Kaushik Reddy's crossover to the TRS.

By the time the Congress leadership swung into action, both the TRS and the BJP had made some inroads into its vote bank. With not much time left for the October 30 polling, it's difficult but not impossible to make any impact in the by-poll," a TPCC leader told The Hans India on the condition of anonymity. It also indicates that the leadership also failed to groom second rung leaders in the constituency. Similarly, the TRS leadership also struggled to find a suitable candidate for the by-poll before it finalised Gellu Srinivas Yadav for the contest.