Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao today addressed a critical and much talked about public meeting in Nagarjuna Sagar's Halia, just three days before the by-election in the constituency. After a month of aggressive campaigning by the TRS in Nagarjuna Sagar, the CM's address was a symbolically important finishing touch to the campaign.
During the address, KCR asked the voters of the constituency not to get carried away in the excitement of the upcoming election, and urged them to cast their votes in a mature and wise manner.
Without making an open appeal for votes, he added, "The people of Nagarjuna Sagar can come to their conclusions about who they want as their leaders. All I say is that you should vote for a leader who will truly work for you. We have chosen to field the son of your former MLA Nomula Narasimhaiah, Nomula Bhagat, because we believe that he will put your needs and welfare first, and will do his best to serve you. The Congress candidate, K Jana Reddy, on the other hand, has not been able to do anything for the constituency over his long political career. In fact, the region was left ignored and neglected during the rule of the Congress. It is now up to you to decide who will serve you better.
KCR also elaborated on the TRS' plans for the constituency, and stated that the Nellikallu lift irrigation project would be completed if the pink party won, and that the Nandikonda municipality's land issues would get addressed as well. He promised to establish a degree college in Nagarjuna Sagar if Bhagat clinched the seat.
The CM also alleged that the parties of the Opposition had attempted to
get his public meeting cancelled through a variety of ways but had failed to do so, and termed the attempts of the Opposition "illogical".
"Several national leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have been organising huge public meetings to seek votes for their parties in the elections being held in five states of the country. This is only natural. The paltry attempts to get my meeting cancelled were illogical and uncalled for," he charged.
The TRS has been heavily invested in its campaign for the seat. In fact, it has assigned one legislator and a team of activists to each mandal in the constituency. Prominent leaders like Talasani Srinivas Yadav and Mohammed Mahmood Ali have been in the region leading the effort and the party's
unceasing attacks on Jana Reddy, the Congress veteran vying for the seat.
Most debates in the fight for the seat have been centred around development. Things have been especially hard for Jana Reddy after he challenged his rivals to a "no-campaign election" as his opponents simply saw the challenge as the septuagenarian's inability to campaign.