As the BJP and the TRS woo the Congress vote bank in Munugode, Congress leaders have no idea how to stop voters from abandoning them.
Published Sep 08, 2022 | 4:14 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 09, 2022 | 3:24 PM
Congress leader Komitareddy Venkat Reddy is allegedly helping his brother, BJP leader Komitareddy Rajagopal Reddy, gobble up Congress votes in he Munugode Assembly constituency. (komitareddi/Facebook)
The Congress vote bank in the Munugode Assembly segment in the Nalgonda district of Telangana is an irresistible attraction for both the BJP and the TRS.
The BJP wants to gobble up the entire block, using methods both fair and foul.
For its part, the TRS is keen on breaking up the pie to mar the prospects of the BJP candidate in the by-election, which is yet to be notified by the Election Commission.
As the two parties are getting ready to annex the Congress vote bank in ways that suit their strategies, the Congress leaders are caught unawares, not knowing how to stop their voters from abandoning them.
The BJP’s strategy to reach out to the Congress voters appears to be as circuitous as it is disturbing.
Its nominee Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy is reportedly getting help from his brother and Congress MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy to ace the election.
Despite the public posturing that he would campaign for the Congress, Venkat Reddy is doing exactly the opposite: calling up party leaders at the village level and asking them to support his brother.
The husband of a Ukondi MPTC member in the Munugode Mandal, Palagoni Saidulu — a dyed-in-the-wool Congress worker — created a flutter when he said Venkat Reddy had asked him to support his brother.
“I guess it is happening all over the constituency. How can Venkat Reddy, who is a Congress MP, canvass for the BJP?” he asked while speaking to South First.
He appealed to the party leadership to discipline him and field a candidate who could match Rajagopal Reddy in resources to retain the seat.
“The party may be short of resources, but not leaders with resources,” he said.
He suspected that Venkat Reddy was taking a dive because a large portion of Congress voters was averse to supporting Rajagopal Reddy.
The party activists believe that they have a fair chance of winning the seat if the leaders handled the election right.
The first task before them is to stop Venkat Reddy from poaching the party voters for his brother, prevent disgruntled elements from contesting as rebels, and finally zero in on a candidate who can match Rajagopal Reddy in resources.
Meanwhile, the TRS is dreaming up plans to break up the Congress vote bank as it is hell-bent on wresting the seat from the Congress.
The TRS wants to cut the BJP down to size. As the real and present danger to the party is from the BJP, which has been building up a frenzy that winning Telangana in the next election is a fait accompli, the TRS wants to stop the saffron party in its tracks.
The TRS knows that if the Congress vote bank gets transferred to the BJP, it would have to stew in its juices. That is why it is planning to spoil the broth for the saffron party.
According to sources, as the only advantage that it has over Congress is its unlimited resources, it wants to use them to its advantage. The party, sources said, wants to encourage the unhappy elements in the Congress to remain in the fray to divide the votes.
At the moment, the TRS is keeping its fingers crossed as the Congress is yet to decide its candidate.
If former Rajya Sabha member late Palvai Govardhan Reddy’s daughter Sravanthi does not get the party nomination, she might contest as an independent, which has happened twice: in 2014 and 2018.
If that happens, it would be a blessing in disguise for the TRS as Sravanthi herself would divide the Congress votes.
Meanwhile, as politicians are racking their brains over how to maim their opponents, it is party time for the people in the Munugode constituency.
By nightfall every day, in every village in the constituency, all three parties are hosting parties for voters.
The people too are not bothered about who is inviting them as long as drink and food are available aplenty, which has become another worry for the leaders as they are not able to gauge the leaning of the voters.
