Hyderabad: After a week-long stay in New Delhi, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao returned to Hyderabad on Wednesday following which ministers and TRS MLAs who have been campaigning in the poll-bound Munugode Assembly constituency since Dasara made a 'collective request' to him to stay in the constituency for a week until November 1 after Diwali.
The request was made during Rao’s teleconference with party leaders to discuss the bypoll.
The party leaders also wanted the CM to visit the constituency in a cavalcade of thousands of vehicles to demonstrate the party's strength. The CM is believed to have responded positively to their requests and promised to make a decision within a day or two.
The TRS leaders reportedly pointed out that BJP state president Bandi Sanjay had visited Munugode constituency on Tuesday with a convoy of nearly 100 cars and conducted a road show in violation of the model code of conduct, but the Election Commission remained quiet. To counter this, the TRS leaders requested that the CM visit the constituency in a convoy of thousands of vehicles.
When the Chief Minister visited the Munugode constituency for the first time to address a public meeting on August 20, he arrived in a cavalcade of over 4,000 cars from Pragathi Bhavan. This caused major traffic jams in the city as well as on the Nalgonda-Vijayawada highway. The CM used a helicopter to return.
During the teleconference, the ministers and MLAs camping in Munugode reportedly told the CM that the TRS would win with a comfortable majority based on campaigning trends, and that the BJP and Congress would fight for second place.
At Pragathi Bhavan, the CM held a meeting with Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and top police officials. The meeting was attended by DGP M. Mahendar Reddy, Hyderabad police commissioner C.V. Anand and Cyberabad police commissioner Stephen Raveendra.
Official sources said the CM assessed the law and order situation in the city and the state in the wake of the bypoll. Senior officials of various departments also met CM and briefed the major developments over the past one week.
