Munugode, a costly political exercise
General elections to the Telangana State assembly are hardly a year away. Yet, a rural Assembly segment—Munugode—in the Nalgonda district is going for a by-election. Though notification is yet to be issued, the Election Commission will have to hold it within six months by February next year. The non-descript constituency is already becoming a theatre for a gladiatorial contest with KCR and Amit Shah addressing mega rallies, and Priyanka Vadra is also expected to join the joust soon.
The by-election could have been avoided as it serves no purpose except to suit the BJP’s political gambit. The sitting Congress legislator Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy wanted to join the BJP ahead of the general election. The BJP, which smelled an opportunity to strengthen further the perception that it was galloping towards capturing power in the next Assembly election, made Raj Gopal Reddy resign, necessitating the by-election. It hopes that the bypoll is a cinch because it is Raj Gopal’s turf, and on top of it, he will now be its candidate. The BJP has already upset the TRS in two earlier by-elections—Huzurabad and Dubbaka, one of which was caused by the resignation of sitting TRS MLA Eatala Rajender after he was sacked from the cabinet for “plotting against” KCR. The other occurred as the incumbent, a TRS legislator, died. The saffron party wants to tuck Munugode under its belt to create an impression that it is now unstoppable.
The only purpose that the by-election may serve is to help the parties know which way the wind is blowing. The TRS is of the opinion that it is still a monolith, while the BJP thinks a silent revolution is building up in its favour. The Congress, which is still struggling with internecine quarrels, is yet to get its act together. The by-election surely will not tilt the scales in favour of anyone now, as KCR has a brute majority in the Assembly. The BJP and the Congress have MLAs in single digits. If we leave aside the politics, this inevitable bypoll is nothing but an unconscionable waste of crores of rupees of public money, contrary to claims of the parties that it will usher in development.