WARANGAL: With all independent candidates withdrawing from the fray, it’s a direct fight between the ruling TRS candidate Anishetty Sarita and BJP nominee K Santosh Reddy in the by-elections to division 44 of Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC), scheduled to be held on January 9. Already, TDP and Congress have announced that they would not be contesting the poll and would extend their support to TRS candidate Sarita.
The bypoll has been necessitated to fill up the vacancy created following the murder of sitting member Anisetti Murali from TRS on July 13 this year at his residence at Kumarpalli in Hanamkonda by his rivals. A total of six candidates filed nominations and of them, four contesting as independents withdrew their applications. While the TRS is banking on sympathy votes, the BJP is focusing on the government’s failures and the prevailing anti-incumbency wave in the division.
In fact, TRS leaders have already started emotional campaign and want the voters to support the wife of the slain leader. They are recalling the services done by the late leader during the campaign. Warangal West MLA D Vinay Bhaskar is leading the campaign and visiting every locality in the division with the main campaign point as chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao sanctioning `300 crore for the development of Warangal city and division 44 has also been allocated a fairly good amount to undertake development work.
“A lot of development work has been undertaken in the division in the last one year. More work will be sanctioned soon. We want the people to once again support us as it will help in continuing the development work undertaken by the government,” he stated.Even mayor N Narender and Kakatiya Urban Development Authority (KUDA) chairman Marri Yadava Reddy have taken up an intensive campaign to promote TRS.
On the other hand, the BJP nominee Santosh Reddy, who lost by a narrow margin last time and who has a fairly good support base in the division, is exposing the government’s failures and unfulfilled promises. Sources said if sympathy wave did not prevail in the poll, Santosh Reddy stands a good chance of winning as the anti-government votes would go to him. Meanwhile, TRS is making all out efforts to retain the seat. They have appointed an in-charge for all the nine booths in the division and set up teams to take up door-to-door campaign.