The announcement of Dalit Bandhu scheme by the State government with the possibility of by-election to Huzurabad Assembly constituency in the near future has given rise to wishful thinking among the opposition parties.
In the recent past, several leaders of the opposition parties have not missed even a single opportunity, particularly after the by-election to Nagarjunsagar Assembly seat, to term by-elections as a panacea to all problems at constituency and at State-level.
Former Minister A. Chandrasekhar, now in BJP, recently said people, particularly those of the shepherd community, in his Vikarabad constituency are praying for resignation of the sitting TRS legislator so that by-election could get them sheep units sanctioned under the sheep distribution scheme.
He pointed out that the beneficiaries had borrowed money to mobilise 20% of their contribution in the unit cost over a year back and are yet to get the units sanctioned.
Speaking at Dalita-Girijana Dandora meet in Indervelli, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A. Revanth Reddy too echoed similar view stating that by-elections to 118 Assembly seats, since Huzurabad is already vacant, could make the government address all problems of people.
Controversy avoided ahead of Dalit Bandhu
The State government has initiated steps for the formal launch of the pilot project of Telangana Dalit Bandhu, the scheme aimed at financial motivation of dalit families in a phased manner, at Huzurabad.
With Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao slated to launch the scheme at a public meeting on Monday, the Karimnagar district education officer reportedly assigned duty of mobilisation of people from villages to a group of teachers.
A communication addressed to teachers was all set to turn into a controversy as teachers openly opposed the decision to entrust them with such responsibility. Senior officials intervened in the matter and avoided the controversy ensuring that teachers were not given such duties.
Issue of concern for TRS
There is no doubt that the TRS has taken the upcoming by-election to Huzurabad Assembly constituency as a matter of prestige which is evident from the head start it has taken over the rivals in the campaign.
A matter of concern for TRS was what if the Election Commission of India delayed the election in view of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Also, the prestigious Dalit Bandhu scheme of government was set for launch on Monday apparently on expectations that the polls would be somewhere round the corner.
On any given day, at least four Ministers are busy campaigning for TRS in the constituency.
All this will come to a naught if the polls are delayed inordinately.
The BJP, on the other hand, has thought of another way of dealing with the uncertainty over the poll schedule.
It has worked out the padayatra of the State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar from August 24 in a way that the programme will be outside of the constituency as long as the schedule was not announced. Once announced, the padayatra will enter the constituency and turn into a campaign by Mr. Sanjay Kumar.
(B. Chandrashekhar, M. Rajeev
and N. Rahul)
