TRS miffed over lax party MLAs: Harish Rao

Hyderabad: The TRS is miffed over the way some party MLAs were avoiding participating in the campaign for the party candidate in the ensuing Huzurabad bypoll. Though the Election Commission of India is yet to announce the date for the poll, the party had taken it as a prestigious issue since former minister Eatala Rajender, who had quit the party and joined the BJP, was the Opposition candidate in the bypoll. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had entrusted the responsibility of the campaign to Finance Minister T Harish Rao. He along with Gangula Kamalakar and Koppula Eshwar has been campaigning in the constituency vigorously. The party had appointed MLAs as mandal in-charges and had asked them to take up intensive campaign till the end of the poll. But it was noticed that some MLAs were participating in the campaign only when ministers were touring those mandals and on other days they were found mostly in Hyderabad.

The TRS, which wants to prove that it is the party that matters and not the candidate, had launched the Dalit Bandhu scheme from this constituency and had announced a slew of welfare schemes in a bid woo the electorate. Following the feedback from the ground level, the Chief Minister has expressed displeasure over the attitude of the MLAs and has asked Harish Rao to handle the issue. Harish Rao on Monday spoke to those MLAs and is said to have made it clear to them that they need to be serious in their work. He directed them to visit every house in the constituency and submit a report. He said, he would be regularly monitoring their campaign and would cross-check with the local leaders and if they show any slackness, action would be taken against them.