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Huzurabad assembly bypolls: BJP banks on Rajender’s popularity to make inroads
Rajender has been drawing impressive crowds for his roadshows and meetings during his campaign, which will come to an end on Wednesday, but it is mostly because of his image, as he had been representing the Huzurabad constituency for the last four terms.
The Bharatiya Janata Party will hope to cash in on Eatala Rajender’s popularity in Huzurabad, set for by-elections on October 30, but faces stiff competition from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which will look to consolidate its hold in the constituency once dominated by Maoists and left-wing groups.
Rajender has been drawing impressive crowds for his roadshows and meetings during his campaign, which will come to an end on Wednesday, but it is mostly because of his image, as he had been representing the Huzurabad constituency for the last four terms.
There has not been much response from the crowd at the meetings organised by star campaigners, including Union minister for tourism G Kishan Reddy, state BJP president Bandi Sanjay, Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind, BJP national vice-president D K Aruna and ex-MP Vijayashanti, which could hurt the saffron party’s chances.
In the last assembly elections held in December 2018, the BJP secured a meagre 1,683 votes accounting for 0.95 per cent of the polled votes, which is less than the number of votes (2,867) polled under NOTA (None Of The Above).
Rajender, who contested on the TRS ticket, got 104,000 votes (59.34 per cent), while his nearest rival P Kaushik Reddy of the Congress secured 61,121 votes (34.60 per cent).
Despite knowing that the BJP is a virtual non-entity in Huzurabad, Rajender chose to join the saffron party after being hounded out of the ruling TRS in May this year on the charges of land encroachment.
“There was no alternative for him as he needed some protection from the witch-hunt by the Telangana government. He had met leaders of various parties before deciding to join the BJP. Though Congress was a better option, it was suffering from a leadership crisis those days. The BJP leadership assured him all help during that crisis period,” a senior leader close to Rajender told HT on condition of anonymity.
The TRS, which is going all out to defeat Rajender in the by-elections, quickly grabbed the opportunity and lured all his associates in the constituency, who were not happy with him joining the BJP. As a result, Rajender is forced to bank on his image in the constituency.
Throughout his campaign, Rajender focused only on the good work done by him in the constituency in the last seven years and how he was subject to harassment by the TRS president and chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao.
“I thought I would continue in the TRS all through my life, and after my death, I wished that my body would be draped in the pink flag. But KCR would never allow any leaders to grow independently and hound them out if they raised their voice. There is no democracy in Telangana but only a monarchic rule of KCR,” Rajender said at his roadshow in Veenavanka village on Sunday.
Interestingly, Rajender is avoiding invoking the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah or the Central schemes in his speeches, unlike other campaigners of the BJP. He is also ending his speeches with the “Jai Telangana” slogan, whereas the other BJP leaders are raising the “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” slogan.
On the other hand, the TRS is trying to capitalise on the people’s disgruntlement towards the BJP government at the Centre over steeply rising prices of petrol, diesel and LPG gas cylinders. “Why should you vote for the BJP? Is it because the prices of petroleum products have skyrocketed? Is it because the Modi government is privatising ports, airports, railways and steel factories? Remember, soon after the Huzurabad by-elections, the LPG cylinder price would go up to ₹1200,” said TRS star campaigner and state finance minister T Harish Rao at a rally in Jammikunta recently.
Another worrying factor for Rajender is the election symbol. All these years, he had been a TRS legislator, and the people in the rural areas identified him with the “car” symbol (of TRS) during the elections. For the first time, he is contesting on the “lotus” symbol of the BJP, which is not a voters’ favourite in the constituency.
“We are struggling to convince the people that Rajender’s election symbol is lotus and not car. We are hopeful to bring awareness among the people about the changed election symbol of our leader,” a close associate of Rajender said.
BJP state official spokesperson Palwai Rajani said the party has been growing strongly all over the state, and Huzurabad is no exception. “The fact that Rajender has preferred to join the BJP than the Congress itself shows that we are emerging stronger. His victory in Huzurabad would certainly boost the prospects of the BJP across Telangana and prove nemesis for the TRS,” Rajani said.
TRS working president K T Rama Rao on Saturday said: “Rajender might be contesting on the BJP ticket in Huzurabad, but within a year, he will join the Congress party. He has an understanding with PCC chief A Revanth Reddy.”
