Banking on welfare schemes launched by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government, like it did during the campaign for the 2018 Assembly election, party working president K.T. Rama Rao tried to evoke welfarism and hope among people of Huzurnagar, in his first campaign for the byelection here on Friday.
Asserting that development, and solutions to problems, was possible by those in the government and not those out of it, Mr. Rao said the Congress party which ruled the constituency for decades, failed its people in both the aspects.
“Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy, chief of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee and five-time legislator, staged dharna outside the Tahsildar office demanding development, but never submitted a petition or met the Chief Minister, on Huzurnagar’s development in the past five years. It was his pride, he cheated you all,” he claimed.
However, the TRS government, in power for next 51 months, will guarantee development, he said.
Standing atop a vehicle in a roadshow here, flanked by contestant Shanampudi Saidireddy and Energy Minister G. Jagadish Reddy, he dismissed the charges of the Congress party that the TRS government had not done anything for Huzurnagar in the past five years.
“Huzurnagar got ₹ 2000 crore — ₹ 196 crore for Rythu Bandhu, ₹20.04 crore for Rythu Bima, ₹ 33.40 crore for Kalyana Lakshmi-Shaadi Mubarak, ₹ 4.8 crore-worth KCR Kits and hundreds of crores for 24-hour electricity, among others,” Mr. Rao read out from a ‘fact sheet’.
He said the government will do more, and party supremo and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekar Rao, scheduled to visit the constituency soon, will also give an assurance on the grievances of those affected by the Pulichintala project and the jurisdictional issues of Huzurnagar lawyers.
Likening the Congress party to Padma Vibhushan K J Yesudas’ pathos-laden ‘Gaali Vaanalo’ song, he said the party was a sinking boat, and the Bharatiya Janata Party too was working with Congress to defeat the TRS here, he said.
Urging people of Huzurnagar to make a choice clear before them, when they go to the polling stations on October 21, Mr. Rao said the question was also clear: “Vote for Congress again and say Ji Huzoor, or vote for TRS and say Jai Huzurnagar.”
Sporting the scarves of both the TRS and CPI, Mr. Saidi Reddy said, if elected, he would change the face of Huzurnagar in four years, with a tank bund, a stadium, polytechnic college, ring road, more double bedroom houses and improved irrigation.
