Contestants from all major political parties filed their nomination papers for the Nagarjuna Sagar by-poll on Tuesday, the last day for filing.
Former Minister and seven-time MLA K. Jana Reddy filed his papers as the Congress candidate while Nomula Bhagat, son of deceased MLA Nomula Narsimaiah, filed the papers as the TRS candidate. BJP candidate Panugothu Ravi Kumar also filed his papers.
Unlike the past, there were no big rallies or show of strength due to strict COVID protocols. However, TRS showed its strength with a host of leaders, including Power Minister G. Jagadish Reddy and several MLAs from the district, participating in the nomination process.
Mr. Jana Reddy, a veteran in politics, will face two new entrants in the by-poll necessitated by the demise of Nomula Narsimhaiah due to ill-health. The contest is likely to be between the three major parties given the strong influence of personality and caste considerations.
The TRS candidate belongs to the numerically strong Yadava community while Congress candidate is from the Reddy community that has been a dominant force in the combined Nalgonda district. BJP candidate Ravi Kumar comes from the Lambada community that has a presence of over 40,000 voters out of the total electorate of over two lakhs. The BJP that polled a poor 2,000 odd votes in the 2018 Assembly elections has since then increased its presence.
A senior TRS leader confided that BJP will surely improve its vote share drastically and that would be a worry for both the Congress and TRS candidates. “Whom will it finally benefit in the results remains to be seen,” he said.
Mr. Jana Reddy is depending on his ‘clean’ image apart from the sympathy factor that he lost in the 2018 elections. TRS, on the other hand, is completely dependent on Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s image and welfare schemes. It has identified that nearly 1.36 lakh voters are beneficiaries of government schemes in the constituency.
By picking up a tribal candidate, BJP seems to be investing in future given its shortcomings like poor party structure. It is banking on first time voters who have been largely voting for the BJP in Telangana in the last few elections.
Mr. Jana Reddy gave an impetus to the campaign with a well-attended public meeting in Halia and reeled out the development done by him as an MLA and Minister. He also challenged the ruling TRS that he would sit at home without campaigning and were they willing to do the same if they believed in the development done by them. “Let the voters decide,” he said.
However, Mr. Jagadish Reddy ridiculed the offer and said Mr. Jana Reddy was afraid of campaigning as people would pose questions. “He was rejected in 2018 elections and has no right to face the elections now.”
Polling will be held on April 17 and counting will take place on May 2, along with counting for elections in other states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Assam.
