HYDERABAD: With just four days of campaigning left for December 7 Assembly elections, there appears to be a slight change of trend in Secunderabad constituency, with voters increasingly leaning towards People’s Front’s Congress candidate Kasani Gnaneshwar.The situation was a little different last week when Express visited the constituency represented by TRS candidate T Padma Rao Goud, who is the Excise Minister in the caretaker government.
What led to change of trend is change of loyalties by TRS corporators and party workers, who abandoned the ship and joined Congress. Though these developments have come as a big boon for People’s Front partners, Secunderabad constituency still remains a stronghold of TRS candidate Padma Rao Goud, primarily because of Padma Rao’s personal connect with the voters.
Even after becoming a minister in TRS government, Padma Rao was often seen in the constituency, interacting with people and also remained accessible for anyone in need of help, said one local resident.
However, the way Congress has been gaining ground with strong campaigning, covering every lane in constituency, and with four more campaigning days remaining, the battle is definitely poised to get tough.
Preparing well Muhammad Nasiruddin a shopkeeper in Warasiguda, said: “Aspirants from both the parties have been preparing well for the election. Earlier, the Secunderabad TDP workers joined TRS party but many of them have now returned to the Congress-led alliance. Seems like it will be a tough fight.” B Venkateshwarlu, who owns a tea stall in Tarnaka, said: “Most people will have a soft corner for Padma Rao Goud because he is a local. He is available 24x7 for constituency people and he knows the local issues very well.”
“Everyday people gather at my tea stalls in the evening and discuss about issues relating to elections. The contest is tough this time. One need to wait till December 11 to know,” he added.Speaking to Express, Congress candidate Gnaneshwar said: “People of the State aren’t ready to trust TRS again. During my door-to-door campaign I met many people with who are against the TRS government and they are very critical of TRS government’s failures.”