HYDERABAD: With just two days left for campaigning to end for the graduates’ and teachers’ MLC elections scheduled for February 27, political parties and independent candidates are making a final push to woo voters.
Both the national parties — BJP and Congress — are actively campaigning across constituencies, intensifying their efforts to secure victory for their candidates. The saffron party has entirely focused on the three seats, with its leaders aggressively targeting the ruling Congress for its alleged failures over the past 15 months.
Union Coal & Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy, MoS for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, MPs Eatala Rajender, Dharmapuri Arvind and M Raghunandan Rao, as well as several BJP MLAs, are actively touring districts, holding meetings and challenging the Congress.
Meanwhile, the ruling Congress is reportedly lagging in its campaign compared to the BJP. According to sources, only IT & Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu is said to be covering most of the constituencies, while ministers Ponnam Prabhakar, Konda Surekha, and Damodar Rajanarsimha are campaigning in a select few.
Sources say that while some MLAs are working hard to retain the party’s seat, a majority of MLAs and senior leaders are not very active, a matter of concern for supporters of candidate V Narender Reddy.
Internal discontent
Furthermore, the grand old party is only contesting the graduates’ seat, whereas the saffron party has fielded candidates for both the graduates’ and two teachers’ seats.
This has resulted in a more concerted campaign by the BJP, heightening the contest. There is growing discussion within the Congress circles about the party’s lack of focus on the campaign.
The BJP, which secured four Lok Sabha and seven Assembly seats in the constituency that comprises the graduates’ seat, is seen as a strong contender, while the Congress, despite winning two Lok Sabha and more than 22 Assembly seats in the segment, seems to be struggling due to internal discontent.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has taken a personal interest in retaining the MLC seat and is set to campaign in Nizamabad, Mancherial and Karimnagar districts on February 24 to ensure the party’s victory.
This move has sparked discussions as no previous chief minister had actively participated in the Council polls.