HYDERABAD: The ruling TRS has a strong cadre base and solid votebank in Dubbaka. Despite this, TRS leaders are not leaving anything to chance or giving the Opposition room to gain in strength in the bypoll. Dubbaka TRS in-charge and Finance Minister T Harish Rao has been touring the segment for the last 25 days and interacting with the people. He has already covered each of the seven mandals four to five times. In the 2018 Assembly polls, the TRS candidate Solipeta Ramalinga Reddy won with over 62,000 votes majority. This time, the TRS’ target is to get a majority of one lakh votes.
Speaking to Express on Tuesday, Harish says that right from 2001, the TRS had been winning MPP, ZPTC and other polls in Dubbaka segment. He exuded confidence that the TRS would win the bypoll with a thumping majority due to the development and welfare schemes, coupled with a sympathy wave.
“The Congress has no leader and the BJP has no cadre in Dubbaka. They are both facing a crisis. In the 2018 Assembly polls, both Congress and BJP candidates lost their deposits. This time also they are trying for second and third place. I am sure candidates of both these parties are going to forfeit their deposits in the bypoll,” a confident Harish states. He recalled that the TRS candidates had overcome the sympathy wave in Palair and Narayankhed and won bypolls there. In Dubbaka, the TRS candidate has the advantage of government schemes in addition to the sympathy factor, he says.
Around 12 villages which were earlier in Siddipet Assembly segment were merged with Dubbaka segment in reorganisation of the segments. “I have personal rapport with the people of these villages. I have visited each and every mandal four to five times. People are supporting us,” Harish states.
He also explains that Dubbaka has the highest number of beedi worker pensions. “Around 20,000 beedi workers are getting a monthly pension of `2,000. No other segment in the State has such huge number of beedi workers. Over 78,000 farmers in the segment got `5,000 Rythu Bandhu amount in the Kharif. Besides, 59,700 people are getting Aasara pension of `2,000 monthly. This will help us,” Harish explains.
“As many as 440 farmers got Rythu Bima insurance of `5 lakh in Dubbaka. The Kaleshwaram project, Mission Kakatiya, new Revenue Act and other programmes will help the TRS candidate,” Harish Rao says.
The Finance Minister also points out that out of 148 villages in Dubbaka, the TRS sarpanches won in 144 villages. The TRS leaders won as MPPs and ZPTCs in all the seven mandals in the segment. In the lone Dubbaka municipality, the TRS won 19 of 20 wards. “But we are not overconfident. We are taking the election seriously,” Harish says.
Asked about the allegations of the Congress and the BJP that the TRS developed only Gajwel and Siddipet and neglected Dubbaka, he says that the amounts of Aasara pension, Rythu Bandhu and Beedi Workers Pension is the same in all the segments. “In fact, the number of ryots are more in Dubbaka and the segment got more money than Siddipet,” he says. Dubbaka benefited more than Gajwel and Siddipet in welfare and developmental programmes, he emphasises.