Huzurabad dumps TRS

Hyderabad: Massive turnout of voters, strategic announcement of schemes like Dalit Bandhu and distribution of money and liquor failed to help the ruling TRS win the Huzurabad byelection. The pink party lost to former minister and BJP candidate Eatala Rajender, who was forced out of the TRS earlier this year. He won the byelection by a margin of 23,800 votes.

There are many factors which had left the TRS disappointed. It had lost the election despite launching the campaign as early as on August 16 the day when Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced the Dalit Bandhu scheme, issued GOs and released money.

Despite a battery of State leaders had taken up door-to-door campaign and ace campaigner of the party and Finance Minister T Harish Rao had camped in the constituency, the TRS failed to win even in Shalapalli village, where the Dalit Bandhu scheme was launched. Voters of Himmat Nagar, the native village of party candidate Gellu Srinivas Yadav and Singapur village represented by TRS founder member and MP Captain Laxmikantha Rao also rejected the TRS. Out of the 22 rounds of counting, the TRS could secure a majority only in 8th and 11th rounds. On the other hand, Eatala Rajender had established a lead from the round one and finally won by a majority of over 23,000 votes. His lead margin started picking up after the 10th round of counting.

The TRS could also secure a majority in the postal ballots. The total number of votes polled by the BJP was 1,06,780, whereas the TRS secured 87,712 votes. Congress candidate B Venkat lost the deposit. He got only 3000 votes. Out of the 2.36-lakh electorate, a record voter turnout of 86.36 per cent was reported in the byelection.

Huzurabad has been a TRS stronghold since 2004 and Rajender had represented the constituency for four terms between 2009 and 2021.

The byelection was a battle between KCR, who wanted to assert his supremacy and Rajender, who wanted to show his popularity and hold over the constituency in order to save his political career.

BJP State unit president Bandi Sanjay termed the victory as people's resolve to dethrone the 'dictatorial' TRS in the 2024 Assembly elections. Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said such an election was never seen in the last 40 years. He said the downfall of the TRS had begun.