HYDERABAD: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leadership sprang into action soon after former minister Etala Rajender announced his decision to resign from the party and the Assembly, to brace party leaders and cadre for the imminent bypoll to the Huzurabad Assembly seat that has to be held within six months.
The party leadership expects the Election Commission to hold the bypoll sometime in September.
According to sources in the TRS, party president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao discussed the party's strategy with senior leaders after Rajendar's announcement.
It was decided to go all out to retain the Huzurabad seat with a big majority and to adopt the aggressive strategy of the recent Legislative Council polls and the Nagarjunasagar Assembly bypoll in which the TRS emerged victorious.
Ministers will camp in the constituency for three months as election in charges, while TRS MLAs, MLCs, ZPTCs, MPTCs and sarpanchs of erstwhile Karimnagar district will be given the task of micro-level booth management to reach out to every voter.
It was also decided to launch a slew of development activities and address long-pending issues in Huzurabad until the election code comes into force. Chandrashekar Rao will campaign in Huzurabad as he did in Nagarjunasagar, where he addressed two public meetings, the first time he campaigned in a bypoll.
The party leadership reportedly attaches much significance to the Huzurabad bypoll than the ones at Dubbak and Nagarjunasagar as it feels that earlier bypolls were necessitated due to untimely demises of respective sitting MLAs but the Huzurabad bypoll is coming as per the wishes of the party following sacking of Rajendar from the Cabinet and his subsequent resignation from the Assembly.
The party leadership views this bypoll as a 'do-or-die battle' as any upset in this election would have huge political implications on the TRS as well as the state government and may become a rallying point for anti-TRS and anti-Chandrashekar Rao forces to realign and unite before crucial 2023 December Assembly polls. A victory with a decent majority in Huzurabad will make voices of dissent in the party, if any, completely silent and dash plans of party leaders to quit the party to join other parties.
By defeating Rajendar, the TRS leadership wants to send a loud and clear message that the TRS remains unbeatable in Telangana political landscape and for the party, individuals, however big they are, do not matter much.
