Telangana Rashtra Samithi fields Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, eyes big margin win
Hyderabad: The ruling TRS and Opposition parties are all set to slug it out in the first byelections after the 2014 general elections for the Medak Lok Sabha constituency. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who has selected cash rich Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, a TRS activist and transport company owner as the party’s nominee, is keen that the party retains the seat with a bigger majority than the 2014 elections.
TNGOs president G. Deviprasad, who tried hard for the ticket, has been reportedly promised an MLC seat. Mr Prabhakar Reddy, who called on Mr Rao on Tuesday and thanked him for the ticket, will file his nomination on Wednesday, the last date for filing. The election is on September 13. The Congress has fielded former minister Ms Suneetha Laxma Reddy, who represented Narsapur Assembly segment earlier, while the BJP was to finalise its candidate soon.
The bypolls were necessitated due to Mr Rao’s resignation as he had contested from both the Medak Lok Sabha and the Gajwel Assembly seat, but had retained the latter. Mr Rao’s victory margin of 3,97,029 votes in Medak Lok Sabha constituency was the highest in undivided Andhra Pradesh. He had polled 6,57,492 votes, defeating Dr P. Shravan Kumar Reddy of the Congress who had polled 2,60,463.
In the triangular contest, BJP nominee C. Narendranath had got 1,81,804 votes in the Modi wave. The Medak Lok Sabha constituency comprises the Assembly segments of Sangareddy, Patancheru, Medak, Gajwel, Siddipet, Narsapur and Dubbak. Mr Rao has told party leaders that this time the victory margin should be more than the 2014 elections and for this purpose, he has drafted the party brass for poll work and to also set victory margins in each Assembly segment.
“TRS will win hands down and with a record margin again. Congress and BJP are unable to get candidates. A TRS win is a foregone conclusion and what remains is the victory margin,” said T. Harish Rao, minister for irrigation. Telangana state Congress president Ponnala Lakshmaiah and BJP president G. Kishan Reddy, meanwhile, are confident of eating into the TRS votes since Mr Rao is yet to implement his poll promises.
BJP, which failed in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in the 2014 election despite a Modi wave and the Congress, which was wiped out in both regions, are now trying hard to gain a foothold in Telangana. And following the surprise wins in the recent byelections in Bihar and other states, the Congress leaders are hopeful again.
