Rare alignment of sun, moon, earth eclipses campaign day in Munugode

HYDERABAD: Even as the moon came in a direct line between the Sun and earth for a couple of hours on Tuesday, to trigger a partial eclipse, politicians disappeared from the streets of Munugode, the site for a high-stakes political battle between the TRS, the BJP, and the Congress.

Just a few hours of the eclipse in the evening, coupled with the day being ‘Amavasya’, kept top leaders away, with parties declaring that they were busy with strategy meetings, campaign progress reviews and the like.

Among those who appeared to keep away were TRS working president and minister K.T. Rama Rao, and minister T.  Harish Rao. TS BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar and TPCC chief A. Revanth Reddy kept off the roads for most of they day but they did take to the Munugode streets late in the evening after the ‘inauspicious hours’ had passed.

Meanwhile, minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav charged that Opposition parties were resorting to ‘dramas’ with their leaders feigning injuries and illness to gain voter sympathy, “something they did in Dubbak and Huzurabad.” He said, “Today they are claiming that they are unwell, tomorrow they will claim they are being attacked. People of Munugode should not fall for such tricks and if they do, then they will be the losers.”

He said “the BJP candidate has ‘fever’, and the Congress candidate is crying and shedding fake tears.” The BJP, he said, realised that a few days were left and was attempting to stoke sentiments to win voter sympathy. “The TRS which is strong and has people’s support, has no need to resort to such tricks,” he said.

However, TRS MP Ranjith Reddy, rushed with an explanation of his absence in Voilpally village wth 2,370 voters, of which he is in-charge, declaring that he has a really bad leg injury. Sharing pictures of his swollen leg on social media, Ranjith Reddy ended up explaining that he was in no shape to be out in the field.

Incidentally, Union minister G. Kishan Reddy, who had suffered an injury to his leg, was seen walking around villages, meeting voters, but at times leaning on to either his security staff or others.