Telangana Rashtra Samithi floor leader in the Assembly, Etela Rajender, who had captured the citadel of the TDP in the Kamalapur Assembly segment and now Huzurabad Assembly after delimitation in the 2009 elections, is likely to face stiff competition from the Congress in the coming election.
Mr. Rajender had set a new record by defeating TDP leader and four-time legislator from the Kamalapur segment, Muddasani Damodar Reddy, in the 2004 elections on the Telangana sentiment by forging an alliance with Congress. During the by-elections in 2008, Mr. Rajender consolidated his position by getting re-elected without any alliance.
After delimitation, the Kamalapur Assembly segment was made into Huzurabad segment in the 2009 elections. In the 2009 elections, Mr. Rajender defeated his nearest Congress rival V. Krishna Mohan by forging an alliance with the TDP. Again in the 2010 by-election, Mr. Rajender defeated the Congress candidate.
Though Mr. Rajender is known for his good relations with the cadres and others in the segment, the announcement of Husnabad as revenue division has become a bone of contention in the region. Mandals such as Jammikunta, Veenavanka, Kamalapur and Huzurabad would now come under the Husnabad revenue division, which were earlier in Karimnagar revenue division.
Mr. Rajender had opposed the constitution of Husnabad revenue division and demanded the formation of Huzurabad as revenue division as already police had constituted a sub-division for easy administration. He is solely banking on the Telangana sentiment and easy access to the people and also using his ‘BC’ card.
Though, the Congress had not announced its candidate from the segment officially, probable candidates such as Huzurabad market committee chairman K. Sudarshan Reddy, Jammikunta market committee chairman T. Sammi Reddy, BC leader Swargam Ravi are making all-out efforts to secure the party ticket.
The Congress leaders are of the view that if the party forges an alliance with CPI and if it forgoes the Husnabad segment to CPI, then the party would field K. Sudarshan Reddy from the Huzurabad segment as sitting legislator A Praveen Reddy would lose his seat to compensate the Reddy community.
Similarly, the TDP is planning to field former Minister E. Peddi Reddy or former Minister Muddasani Damodar Reddy's son Kashyap Reddy from the segment. Incidentally, all the contesting parties were claiming that there were responsible for the formation of Telangana State.
