The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is likely to announce Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy as its candidate for the Munugode bye-election, according to party sources. While there are speculations that TRS chief and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) will announce the candidate on Dasara, considered to be an auspicious day, it remains to be seen whether he will want to make the announcement on the same day he plans to announce the formation of a national party.
Confirming this, a senior TRS leader told TNM on the condition of anonymity, “Why would KCR want to share the glory with the Munugode candidate? The name of the candidate may be released as a letter either a day before the national party announcement or a day later. Though some feel there is a possibility that KCR might just use the general body meeting to make the announcement, I believe he wouldn’t wish to share the glory.”
The TRS’s decision to field a Reddy candidate comes despite the fact that Munugode has a miniscule Reddy population. Earlier, it was reported that the party had considered giving the ticket to former MP Boora Narsaiah Goud, who is from the BC community. The TRS source told TNM that the party decided to go ahead with the Reddy candidate because giving the ticket to a BC candidate would leave many disgruntled as there are several sub castes within the BC community and many of the sub castes were hoping and lobbying to get their hands on the Munugode ticket.
The TRS’s choice has taken several factors into consideration. The Indian Political Action Committee (IPAC), which was hired by the TRS as a political strategist, had done a detailed survey for the party regarding the Munugode constituency. The survey had identified the strengths and weaknesses of each of the candidates.
Reddys are a land-owning, financially well-off dominant caste and wield immense power in both the Telugu states. Political parties often back people from the community owing to the fact that they can bring big money to the table. This eases the burden on the party and also ensures unanimous support from the BC community. Considering that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is fielding Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, the TRS had to choose a candidate who is economically strong to take him on. In 2018, Komatireddy had declared assets of over Rs 300 crore, making him the richest legislator in the fray.
While Telangana Energy Minister Jagadish Reddy has been rooting for Prabhakar Reddy, several regional leaders from the TRS were against this. They had also conveyed to the TRS high command earlier that the party shouldn’t consider Prabhakar Reddy for the ticket. Jagadish Reddy has been working hard to diffuse the tension and bridge the gap between the local leaders in the constituency and the high command.
It is also learnt that in the weeks to come CM KCR will campaign in Munugode and that the TRS will be putting up an all-out effort in the bye-election which is seen as a prelude to the Assembly election scheduled next year.