TRS cheers as ECI defers bypoll

HYDERABAD: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leadership is upbeat over the decision of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to keep Huzurabad Assembly bypoll on hold until the festival season is over.

The TRS sources said the party was expecting the ECI to release the notification for Huzurabad along with West Bengal Assembly bypoll. However, Huzurabad not figuring in the list of Assembly constituencies where the ECI announced the schedule on Saturday came as a big relief for the party leadership, they said.

Sources said the party leadership always wanted Huzurabad bypoll to be delayed as far as possible and in line with this, the state government conveyed its opinion to the ECI to defer the MLC polls earlier and Huzurabad bypoll now.

With The ECI being in favour of holding Huzurabad bypoll after festival season as sought by the state government, the TRS got three more months’ time to execute its poll strategy in the constituency, focus on development and welfare schemes and implement the Dalit Bandhu programme effectively in Huzurabad before facing the bypoll.

The party leadership also feels that sympathy factor on BJP's candidate Etala Rajendar will go down further as bypoll is delayed longer. "The sympathy for Rajendar in Huzurabad constituency was more when he was sacked from the Cabinet in May. The sympathy was also more when he resigned from the TRS and MLA seat in June. But after he joined the BJP in June, it started gradually waning. After three months, there is no more sympathy factor in favour of Rajender,” sources said. They said it was revealed in various surveys commissioned by the party through independent survey agencies during the past three months.

“Since we have got three more months’ time, our victory has become easier. We have abundant time to implement welfare schemes and development programmes in Huzurabad and get closer to people," said a senior party leader handling party's election responsibilities in Huzurabad.

The party leadership was against holding polls even for six MLC seats under MLAs’ quota scheduled for May when the ECI sought the state government's opinion in August fearing that if it expressed willingness for MLC polls saying that the situation was conducive for polls in Telangana, then the ECI would also issue bypoll notification for Huzurabad.

Although only 119 MLAs are eligible to vote in MLC polls, the Telangana government sought deferment of polls citing Covid pandemic even as it held public meetings of the Chief Minister in several districts for launching various development programmes and Dalit Bandhu scheme between June-August, which were attended by thousands of people.

Even the chances of holding elections for MLC seats are nil because the opposition parties lack the required number of MLAs to even contest these polls and all the six seats will be won by the TRS unanimously without polling. Despite all this, the TRS government was against MLC polls with an eye on delaying Huzurabad bypoll, said the sources.