HYDERABAD: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has sounded the bugle for the byelection to the Nagarjunasagar Assembly seat in Telangana. The bypoll to the constituency will be held on April 17, according to the schedule released by the ECI on Tuesday. The seat fell vacant following the death of TRS MLA Nomula Narasimhaiah on December 1, 2020.
According to the schedule, the byelection notification will be issued on March 23. The last date for filing nominations is March 30, and their scrutiny will take place on March 31. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is April 3. The votes will be counted on May 2. Though all the three major political parties in the State — the TRS, BJP and the Congress — consider the bypoll as a matter of prestige, no political party has announced their candidates yet.
Recently, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had visited the Assembly segment and sanctioned 13 lift irrigation schemes worth more than `3,500 crore. The BJP is also very serious about defeating the ruling TRS candidate in the byelection. The Congress, which will most likely field former minister K Jana Reddy again, is trying to regain its past glory by winning the segment, which was once a Congress bastion.
The TRS and the BJP are exploring various options when it comes to candidate selection. It appears that the saffron party is waiting for the TRS to announce its candidate. If the TRS gives its ticket to Nomula Narasimhaiah’s son Bhagath or any other leader from the Yadava community, then the BJP will decide its candidate accordingly. Reddys and Yadavas are the main contenders for the ticket in both the BJP and the Congress.