Munugode bypoll strategy: TRS reaching out to community leaders
Leaders of Goud community meet TRS working president KT Rama Rao pledging their support to TRS candidate in the Munugodu bypoll, in Hyderabad on Saturday
Hyderabad: Political heat in Munugodu has picked up and all parties are sparing no tricks to ensure the victory of their party candidate. This includes no-holds-barred allegations against rival party candidates.
While the TRS is making all-out efforts to meet the leaders of communities like Gouds, Kapus, Padmashali, SCs and STs who could tilt the balance in the polls, the BJP rank and file are meeting individual voters from these communities. They are also holding meetings with ST community associations at the state level and constituency level.
Excise and Prohibition Minister Srinivas Goud met associations of Gouds and urged them to support the TRS candidate. Similarly, Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar met Kapu association leaders like M Raghava Rao.
TRS MP V Ravichandra was also asked to meet Kapu leaders and other noted people from the community in Munugodu segment.
In the meantime, some Kapu leaders called on the TRS working president K T Rama Rao and informed him that their association had passed a resolution supporting TRS candidate K Prabhakar Reddy.
A group of TRS leaders were holding talks with Mudiraj and Padmashali association leaders to seek their support.
Out of 2.12 lakh voters, Goud, Mudiraj and Padamashali communities are the major communities among BC voters. SCs constitute more than 50,000 voters and Kapus are also in considerable numbers (20,000) in the Munugodu constituency.
The BJP has deployed pro-saffron party leaders from these communities in villages to individually contact the voters and seek their support. BJP leader Vivek Venkataswamy has been going from door to door and E Rajender is meeting Mudiraj and Padmashali communities. BJP state president B Sanjay was in regular touch with local Kapu association leaders. TRS leaders said that KCR is keen to understand the pending issues of voters on caste basis. Leaders said TRS was concerned about the BJP's direct contact with voters on community basis. To counter the BJP, KCR was deploying leaders of various communities to Munugodu and holding talks with local leaders. KCR is planning to hold a meeting with SC community leaders soon and give some assurances to woo them.