After promising to make Warangal and Khammam into next IT hubs in Telangana, and also taking the first steps in that direction, the TRS government is keen on using it its main weapon to appeal to young voters in those corporations.
The TRS led by its working president, K.T. Rama Rao has drawn up plans to capture the corporations, and will continue the positive winning steam it has seen in the recent Graduate MLC elections. It has decided to deploy a battery of leaders consisting of Ministers and MLAs, who will take charge of each division.
So it will be an extension of the ongoing campaigning in the Nagarjunasagar bypoll as Ministers and MLAs would have to shift to either Warangal or Khammam to continue the campaign irrespective of the result in the bypoll.
Government’s intentions are quite clear as the State Election Commissioner has initiated the process of elections despite the appeals from opposition parties on postponing them, citing rising corona cases. In fact, the State Election Commissioner (SEC) also sent a strong signal of conducting the exams stating that when Assembly polls could be conducted in the country in the present circumstances why should the corporation elections be withheld.
The TRS clearly wants to leverage its strength in these districts as most of MLAs and other public representatives are from the ruling party and its fresh success in the MLC elections is playing on its mind. KTR has already kicked off the party campaign indirectly launching several developmental programmes in Khammam and also lining up the same in Warangal.
The government has already decided to increase the wards in Khammam from 50 to 60 and from 58 to 66 in Warangal. The delimitation of wards would obviously be done to suit the ruling party and also the reservations.
Though considered weak in Khammam district, the party has strengthened itself in recent times and Transport Minister, Puvvada Ajay is going full steam with the support of KTR. But it is perturbed a bit by groupism in Khammam TRS. Warangal, however, has been the bastion of TRS ever since the party was launched.
In the previous elections, the TRS secured 44 out of 58 seats in Warangal while Congress got four and BJP and CPI(M) got one each. Rebels and Independents emerged winners in eight divisions but later joined the TRS team. In Khammam it secured 34 seats, Congress secured 10 while CPI(M) and YSRCP won two corporations each. The BJP drew blank despite contesting in 11 divisions. However, this time it was expected to do better.
