In the by-elections that were held for two constituencies in both the Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, one thing that emerged out clearly is the fact that people have completely rejected Congress, so much so that in both the assembly constituencies Congress lost its deposit! Once a party that ruled the country for a very long period and that laid the foundation for the country’s progress is now in doldrums, and looks the party will not jump back in near future.
The by-elections in Huzurabad assembly constituency in Telangana and Badvel assembly constituency in AP saw that Congress candidates were at a distant third position. Right from first round of counting, there was no scope for Congress picking up at any point.
Though the blame game is within the Congress party, but it is fact that Telugu people in both states have completely rejected Congress. The party which was in power before the state was bifurcated, saw the party losing its ground in both the states.
A total of 30 candidates were in the fray in the by-election, necessitated due to the resignation of Eatala Rajender after he was dropped from the Telangana Cabinet by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao over allegations of land-grabbing. Rajender then quit TRS and joined the BJP. Eatala Rajender, who has been representing the Huzurabad constituency since 2009, was seeking re-election on a BJP ticket. He was in a direct fight against Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) student wing leader Gellu Srinivas Yadav.
The Badvel constituency in Andhra Pradesh was reserved for Scheduled Castes witnessed 68.12 per cent polling. Fifteen candidates were in the fray in the bypoll that was necessitated due to the death of sitting MLA G Venkatasubbaiah of the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). The YSRCP fielded his wife Dasari Sudha. Congress' M Kamalamma and BJP's P Suresh were also in the fray.