A cake-walk for TRS in Warangal

Warangal: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders are so comfortably placed that they need not sweat much for the upcoming municipal elections. With the opposition proving to be ineffective in most areas, the campaign is like a walk in the park for ruling party contestants. Barring Jangaon municipality, the TRS is looking formidable in all the eight remaining municipalities in the erstwhile Warangal district.

In Jangaon, the ruling party’s Muthireddy Yadagiri Reddy won the Legislative Assembly seat. However, in the following Lok Sabha elections for the Bhongir seat, under which Jangaon falls, Congress candidate Komatireddy Venkat Reddy beat TRS’s Burra Narsaiah to pocket the seat. As a result, the competition is tough in Jangaon and will be a close call for the TRS and Congress candidates. Aggravating the matter further is the rebel threat that haunts TRS. MLA Yadagiri Reddy has failed in his attempts to get the other contestants to withdraw their nominations. While TRS candidates in 18 wards of the 200 in erstwhile Warangal district were declared elected unopposed, not even one ward has had a unanimous verdict in Jangaon municipality.

However, the situation is different in the remaining municipalities. The Parkal municipality is already within TRS grasp with as many as 11 of the 22 wards going unanimously in favour of the ruling party. When one includes the vote of MLA Challa Dharma Reddy, it is clear that they have crossed the halfway mark. The party is now busy trying to find a suitable candidate for the post of municipal chairman. Since the seat is reserved for SC women, three councillors among those who have already won their seats are busy lobbying for the top post.

In Bhupalpally, Left parties have joined an alliance headed by All India Forward Bloc president Gandra Satyanarayana. However, the TRS is taking measures to counter the influence of the alliance and looks set to beat the opposition. Local Legislator Gandra Venkataramana Reddy and former Assembly Speaker Sirikonda Madhusudhana Chary are busy campaigning for TRS.

The BJP is contesting the polls independently while TDP has completely lost its footing in the erstwhile district. The situation is similar in Mahbubabad, Dornakal, Maripeda, Narsampet, Wardhannapet and Thorrur where the TRS is well placed to pocket the municipalities.