TRS picks BC candidate to match Eatala Rajendar in Huzurabad byelection

HYDERABAD: The byelection to Huzurabad assembly constituency is all set to witness a contest between two Backward Class (BC) leaders who were active in the Telangana statehood movement and even went to jail during those turbulent times.
TRS president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday announced the name of one of it’s younger leaders, Gellu Srinivas Yadav, 37, as the party’s candidate in Huzurabad.
With this, TRS has become the first party to formally announce its candidate for Huzurabad even before the Election Commission issues the poll notification. Although BJP has not announced its candidate, it will most probably field TRS rebel and former minister Eatala Rajendar as he is a BC leader from the Mudiraj community.
KCR wanted a formidable candidate who could match Eatala’s record of participating in the statehood movement and Gellu Srinu, as he is called by his associates, fits the bill. Besides, he is a local of Veenavanka mandal in Huzurabad. His selection gives little scope to the opposition to target him as it would be a contest between two ‘udyamakarulu’.
A research scholar in political science with an MA and an LLB, Gellu Srinuis is also the TRS student wing state president. His father, Gellu Mallaiah Yadav, played an active role in politics from 1985 as a TDP leader before joining TRS. Mallaiah also served as All India Yadav Maha Sabha convenor from 2000 to 2005 and Kondapaka MPTC from 2001 to 2005. At present, he is a primary agriculture cooperative society director and Rythu Bandhu Samithi coordinator.
Unlike in the Nagarjunasagar bypoll when he announced the name of the candidate at the last minute, KCR named Gellu Srinu early so that a message goes out in the constituency that a young BC leader is taking on Eatala.
Though several other BC candidates and leaders from the Reddy community were in the race for the TRS ticket, caste equations and survey reports from the field played a crucial role in Gellu Srinu’s selection. Of the 2.26 lakh voters in Huzurabad constituency, over 1.20 lakh belong to the BC community.
The election is necessitated due to Eatala’s resignation as MLA after he was ousted from the state cabinet on allegations of grabbing assigned land belonging to Dalits. Soon after, he quit TRS and joined BJP.