BJP candidate Eatala Rajender on Tuesday won the Huzurabad Assembly seat in Telangana by defeating ruling TRS candidate Gelu Srinivas Yadav by a margin of 24,068 votes. The bypoll result is being seen as a setback for the ruling TRS and a boost to BJP’s plans to emerge as an alternative to TRS in Telangana in the 2023 assembly elections. While Rajendra got 1,06,780 votes, Srinivas Yadav of TRS got 82,712 votes. Congress candidate Venkat Balamuri came third with 3,012 votes.
With the counting of votes going ahead since Tuesday morning, Rajender maintained a consistent lead over his TRS rival except for a couple of rounds. The bypoll in Huzurabad was necessitated in the wake of Rajendra’s resignation in June after being dropped from the state cabinet on land grabbing charges.
Rajendra, who had denied the allegations, left the TRS and joined the BJP. He demanded re-election on a BJP ticket. Facing a do or die battle, Rajendra started his campaign soon after his resignation. He is representing this constituency since 2004.
A popular leader who belongs to the backward classes, Rajendra served as the leader of the TRS in the undivided Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and later as the Finance and Health Minister in the TRS regime of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (after the formation of separate Telangana in 2014). acted as. . State BJP President and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy and other BJP leaders campaigned for Rajendra in the by-election.
In an attempt to demonstrate its dominance in state politics, the ruling TRS led a massive campaign led by state Finance Minister T Harish Rao, although the CM did not participate in the campaign. The TRS government announced a major welfare scheme for Dalits, named ‘Dalit Bandhu’, a pilot of which is being implemented in Huzurabad.
Speaking to reporters after his election, Rajendra alleged abuse of power and use of money power by the TRS. He thanked the voters for his victory. He thanked BJP state and central leaders for their role and support in the campaign.
Meanwhile, TRS working president and Minister of State KT Rama Rao said that TRS has seen many ups and downs in the last 20 years. He tweeted that the result of this one election will not have any special significance or consequence. Appreciating the spirited fight of TRS candidate Srinivas Yadav, Rama Rao, the son of Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Rao, appealed to all TRS workers to work with determination “to move ahead in the future fight”.
Facing a humiliating defeat, state Congress president and MP A Revanth Reddy said he takes responsibility of the outcome and resolved to work with more enthusiasm in future to win the trust of the people. He appealed to the party workers not to be disturbed by the result.
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