HYDERABAD: Energy Minister G Jagadish Reddy, who has been camping in Huzurnagar for the last few days in an attempt to ensure the victory of TRS candidate S Saidi Reddy in the upcoming bypoll, averred that winds of change are blowing in the segment. In an interview with Express, the minister described Congress candidate N Padmavathi as a non-performer and said that was the reason the people had rejected her in 2018 elections in Kodad.
“The voters in Huzurnagar knew this and they will vote for the ruling TRS, the only party that would develop the segment,” he said.“Around 10,000 people from Huzurnagar segment visit Kodad on a daily basis. They knew that Padmavathi did nothing to Kodad and that was the reason she was defeated in 2018 Assembly elections,” he said.“When a non-performer migrated to Huzurnagar, how could voters support her?” wondered Jagadish Reddy.
Padmavathi a non-performer
Claiming that there is a feeling among the people of Huzurnagar “how many times they have to support the members of one family”, he said: “There is no doubt that Uttam Kumar Reddy is a popular leader. That is why he won three times from the segment. But you should remember that popular leaders like K Jana Reddy, Venkat Reddy and Damodar Reddy too lost in the elections. Uttam Kumar Reddy should have been defeated in 2018 elections. But voters supported him because they thought he might become the chief minister if the Grand Alliance forms the government. There is no such possibility now and people understood that Padmavathi was a non-performer in Kodad.”
Stating that farmers had supported Uttam Kumar Reddy in the previous elections as he sanctioned lift irrigation schemes, he said that “after the introduction of Rythu Bandhu, Rytu Bima and other schemes, the farmers switched their loyalty to the TRS”.
“Earlier, Muslims and Christians were with Uttam Kumar Reddy. Now Uttam Kumar Reddy is not enjoying their support as he is working clandestinely with the BJP.“Uttam Kumar Reddy is sharing all the complaints he lodged with the Election Commission of India with the BJP leaders and trying to bring pressure on officials,” the minister alleged.
Advantage pink party
Jagadish said that the welfare and development works taken up by the TRS government would be an advantage for their candidate. He said that the women voters outnumbered men voters in the segment. “The Congress candidate Padmavathi failed to connect with the people in the segment, especially with women. A large number of women are supporting the TRS,” he said