HYDERABAD: Dismissing the prospects of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) victory in Munugode byelections, necessitated after Congress legislator Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy quit the party and joined the BJP, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) constituency in-charge and minister for energy G. Jagadish Reddy said, he expected the fight to be between the TRS and the Congress, and the saffron party might even lose its deposit.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, the minister dared anyone who felt the TRS would lose in the bypoll to come and visit the constituency and meet people to get a sense of the sentiment on the ground.
“The perception that there is a strong anti-incumbency against the TRS government led by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao is not true. The Munugode constituency has the largest set of beneficiaries of our welfare schemes and people love Chandrashekar Rao. From Rythu Bandhu to pensions for senior citizens to the physically challenged, from Shaadi Mubarak and Kalyana Lakshmi, the direct beneficiaries alone cover nearly three-fourths of the electorate,” Reddy said.
Saying it was not so much about election management as to educate voters on which government was responsible for which outcome, Jagadish Reddy said, “On the one hand, there is huge anger across Telangana against Narendra Modi and the BJP because of high prices of gas, diesel and petrol. On the other hand, people not only want to elect Chandrashekar Rao garu for a third term, but also want to empower him for a larger national role to save India.”
Claiming that the people in Munugode were not convinced about the rationale of Rajgopal Reddy’s resignation, he said, “If he had left the Congress to join the ruling TRS to bring in local development, people might have accepted. But to join one Opposition party from another has left an impression amongst voters that maybe the Congress campaign against its own MLA that he was leaving for getting business benefits and contacts from the BJP was true. In any case, he will come third. The TRS is at least 18 to 20 per cent ahead of Congress, which is in second place.”
Saying that issues of failed promises like job notifications, 2BHK, 3-acre land for Dalits, free education from KG-to-PG, unemployment allowance and waiver of farm loans were not on top of people’s minds, he said, “People are very grateful to Chandrashekar Rao’s leadership which turned around Telangana’s rural economy, with irrigations projects making our entire state green and productive. Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima have helped farmers and our model is being studied positively by farmers and policy makers from many states across India. Our 24/7 power supply is unmatched as an achievement. The Telangana model is what people across India are keen to have.”
Dismissing as “political conspiracy” the actions of Central agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax, he said, “Everyone in India knows that the BJP is misusing these agencies. If they will raid me, I will welcome them — I have nothing to hide. Entire Telangana is with Kavitha, who is being unfairly targeted only because the TRS is fighting against Modi’s misrule.”
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