Telangana MLC elections: TRS leaders jittery ahead of polls

HYDERABAD: The leaders of the ‘strongest party’ in Telangana, the TRS, are now talking about protecting it ahead of the elections to the Legislative Council. 

This comes after the pink party suffered a humiliating defeat in the Dubbaka bypoll and received a severe drubbing in the recent GHMC election.

The TRS has realised the level of embarrassment it would have to face if it fails to retain its Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda Graduates’ MLC seat. 

Keeping this in mind, all TRS ministers from the 21 districts have been vigorously campaigning for the two Graduates MLC seats.

Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar on Friday said protecting the party means protecting the State. Speaking at a meeting with the Hyderabad district party in-charges, he said: “All of us will be safe if the party is safe.”

Earlier this week, Finance Minister T Harish Rao and Panchayat Raj Minister E Dayakar Rao, too, spoke on the same lines. Harish had appealed to the party workers that victory in the MLC polls was key for the future of the TRS and the State.

He told them to take the elections very seriously. On the other hand, Dayakar Rao had said: “If we protect the party, the party will protect us.” He said this at an election campaign in Warangal on February 27.

Meanwhile, at a tele-conference with party leaders on Friday, TRS working president KT Rama Rao claimed that the party’s candidates for the polls have been receiving good response in both the Graduate MLC seats.

He said sitting MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy was ahead of others in his campaign in Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda. S Vani Devi has been receiving good response in the Hyderabad MLC seat.