High stakes on Dubbaka byelection as parties go all out

SIDDIPET: Major political parties, including TRS, Congress, and BJP, have taken the Dubbaka byelections seriously, which is apparent as they have already declared their candidates and roped in senior leaders and MLAs for campaigning. 

The ruling TRS party has applied a strategy for the bypolls which it has tried in the past too. The party has assigned campaigning to seven Ministers, MLAs and senior leaders by appointing them as in-charges. The appointed in-charge will visit every village and explain about the welfare and development programmes conducted by the government. 

In addition, Finance Minister T Harish Rao is making multiple visits to the constituency and making sharp attacks on opponents. He has talked about schemes such as Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima, Kalyanalaxmi, 24-hour free power supply, double bedroom houses for the poor etc. He has questioned whether the Congress and BJP-ruled States have implemented such schemes. He is also trying to weaken the morale of the opponents by making dissidents join the TRS. 

Meanwhile, the Congress party, too, has roped in senior leaders, former PCC presidents and MLAs, and has appointed them as in-charges of mandals. Former deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarsimha has also been appointed as an in-charge, and has been supporting the Mallanna Sagar project oustees and helping them file cases for justice.

Congress has appointed party heavyweights like MLAs Sridhar Babu and Seethakka, Malkajgiri MP and Congress working president  A Reventh Reddy, former PCC president V Hanumanth Rao, Ponnala Laxmaiah, senior leader Shabbir Ali as mandal in-charges. The Congress is mainly targeting the TRS government on the stipend issue and alleging that TRS has cheated the unemployed and the youth by not conducting recruitment for DSC.

Congress alleges that TRS did not implement the promise of providing job to every home, and has attacked them on the recently introduced LRS and BRS schemes. The BJP, too, has appointed senior leaders for campaigning in the Dubbaka and former  MP Jitender Reddy has been appointed as in-charge. 
BJP leaders are highlighting ‘failures’ of the TRS government and assuring the Mallanna Sagar oustees of providing them compensation, on the lines of Siddipet and Gajwel oustees. BJP candidate M Raghunandan Rao is promising that he would fulfil these promises within a year, and if he fails to do so, he would resign. 

Harish leaves no stone unturned 
Harish Rao questioned whether any other State has implemented schemes similar to the ones in TS. He is trying to weaken morale of the opponents by making dissidents join the TRS