With just nine days left for campaign, all candidates for Huzurabad byelection entered battle mode trying to reach out to maximum number of voters on Monday.
Though campaign started from the day of filing nominations on October 1, with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee Eatala Rajender staying ahead of all others by touring the constituency soon after his resignation as MLA on June 12, election canvassing slowed down due to Dasara festival on Friday. Dasara celebrations continued till Sunday.
Though 30 candidates are in the fray, main fight is between nominees of the Congress, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the BJP with the latter two claiming one another as their main opponent. Minster for Finance T. Harish Rao, who is said to have been assigned the task of securing ruling party candidate Gellu Srinivas Yadav’s victory, has campaigned in Rampur, Rangapur, Kanukalagidde and other villages in Huzurabad mandal with the party nominee.
They organised ‘dhoom dham’ by evening in Chelpur village. “Give youngster Srinivas, a loyalist of the party, a chance. He will ensure constituency’s further progress,” the Minister appealed to people.
Congress party Telangana in-charge Manickam Tagore, accompanied by Karimnagar ex-MP Ponnam Prabhakar, Nizamabad ex-MP Madhu Yaski, Congress MLAs Sridhar Babu and Seethakka along with party candidate Balmuri Venkat campaigned in 10 divisions of Jammikunta. They took out a rally from Ambedkar statue to Gandhi chowk. “Do not get lured by pensions and other benefits. We will provide jobs to youngsters,” they told the public. Later in the evening, Manickam Tagore had a meeting with key party workers.
Eatala Rajender continued his door-to-door campaign by moving in SC colony and other areas in Mamidalapally, Challur and adjoining villages. People received him by offering ‘harati’ and ‘sindhur’. Since he was familiar with majority of the local leaders and public, he was seen calling some of them by their first names and requesting them with folded hands to see him through the election.
