Munugodu fight intensifies

Hyderabad: The fight for the Munugodu Assembly seat is getting intensified as the two major contenders -- TRS and BJP -- have decided to hold back to back public meetings on Saturday and Sunday.

Leaders of both the parties are making all-out efforts to display their political strength. Both the parties want their public meetings should be mammoth one.

While Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will be the star speaker at the Saturday meeting, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to address the BJP meeting on Sunday. The former Congress MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, who quit the Congress, will be joining the BJP in this meeting along with his followers.

TRS sources indicate that KCR is likely to announce some new developmental schemes for Munugodu during his speech. Interestingly, state Energy Minister G Jagdish Reddy is playing a key role in this constituency and reports indicate that he would be leading the poll campaign as well. From the BJP side, chairman of the joining committee

Eatala Rajender is leaving no stone unturned to see that the saffron party poaches as many leaders and workers as possible so that they can join the BJP on Sunday sending a message that the mood was in favour of the BJP. The TRS has adopted a two-pronged strategy -- One to contain internal squabbles and two to poach as many as they can from the Congress. Money from both sides will play a major role in this byelection, local leaders claim.

Both the TRS and BJP are confident that the public meetings will change equations and will give a major boost to the respective party cadres. Leaders from both sides are heavily depending on luring sulking party leaders. While the BJP is targeting such leaders from the TRS, the pink party is trying to rope in sulking leaders from the Congress.