ULB polls: TRS leaders reluctant to campaign amid Covid surge

Hyderabad: With many leaders testing Covid positive after the Nagarjunsagar bypoll, some of the TRS leaders, who are entrusted with the job of campaigning in the Urban Local Bodies going for polls in the month end, are a worried lot. With only three days left for campaigning, several leaders are remaining indoors fearing Covid infection.

After the State Election Commission announced that it was going ahead with elections in two municipal corporations, five municipalities and other divisions in the State, the campaign has picked up pace. However, the TRS leaders are now worrying over contracting virus if gone out for campaigning akin to Sagar bypoll where over 160 tested positive, including Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and party Sagar candidate Nomula Bhagat.

The leaders, including MLAs, who campaigned in Sagar had to be in isolation after the spike in cases in the constituency. These leaders had limited themselves to their houses for more than a week. However, the leaders were given the next task of campaigning in the municipal elections in Khammam, Warangal and other places. A senior leader who was given the responsibility in Warangal was hesitant to travel. The leader is learnt to have told his followers that he was mentally not ready to travel again as he had campaigned for over a month in Sagar. The TRS leader said that he would take a call whether to go for campaign or not after interacting with the local leadership.

The opposition party leaders have already complained to the election authorities demanding a ban on the leaders campaigning in Nagarjunasagar. The Congress leaders pointed out that these leaders had campaigned in the constituency where hundreds of positive cases have come out and suspected that some of them may become carriers of the virus.

The party leaders, who actively took part in the campaign in Sagar, are seen reluctant to go public in the civic polls especially after Chief Minister, Minister KT Rama Rao, MP J Santosh testing positive, said the TRS leader. While the election campaign will end on April 27, and the election will be held on April 30, results will be announced on May 3.