TRS's Munugode by-poll win is charity of Communist parties: Etela Rajender

Hyderabad: A day after the Munugode by-election result was announced, BJP MLA Etela Rajender claimed that TRS won the by-poll due to the support of CPI and CPM parties. "The win is a charity of the Communist parties. It is the victory of money power, not democracy."

TRS candidate Kusukuntla Prabakhar Reddy won the by-election by defeating the BJP candidate by over 9,000 votes.

On 7 November, Etela Rajender addressed the press from the BJP state office. Speaking about BJP's performance in the by-poll, he said, "In the bastion of the Communist party, BJP has got a strong foothold in a very short time."

The BJP leader accused TRS of ill-treating Communist parties and seeking their support only when needed. "CPI party was the first national party to pass the resolution for Telangana state formation. We celebrated then and during the movement, KCR met Varavara Rao and spoke in support of the Communist movement. But soon after coming to power, TRS didn't even let them enter Pragathi Bhavan," he alleged.

Speaking about KCR's attitude towards democracy, the MLA said, "He suppressed the unions and arrested the leaders. He even arrested journalists and attacked the press. What sort of democracy is this?" He further said he had been the bridge between CPI, CPM, and TRS throughout the years.

Speaking about the role of CPI and CPM, he said in 2018, when Rajagopal Reddy won with 97,239 votes, it was with the help of the Communist parties, but now he single-handedly won 86,485 votes. "The TRS won because of CPI, CPM, MIM, command control center, and money," claimed the Huzurabad MLA.

'TRS threatened voters'

Criticising KTR, Mr. Etela said, "TRS has used the state power and machinery to win the by-elections. They threatened the voters by saying they will stop welfare schemes if they lose."

He accused CM KCR of announcing welfare schemes according to caste-based vote banks before the Munugode by-elections. Mr. Etela further said that even GO 118 was issued because many people from Munugode stay in the LB Nagar area of Hyderabad.

On 2 November, minister K.T Rama Rao issued GO 118 for the regularisation of lands up to 1,000 square yards in LB Nagar and five other Assembly constituencies.

The MLA alleged that the state police are being used to tap the phones of Opposition leaders rather than for the safety and security of the people.

The Munugode by-poll

The Munugode by-elections were held on 3 November and recorded a high voter turnout of 93.13%. The by-election was necessitated by the resignation of MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy on 8 August. He quit Congress and joined the BJP.

BJP later fielded him from the constituency. Indian National Congress fielded Palvai Sravanthi, TRS nominated Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy, and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) reposed faith in Andoju Shankara Chari.

Around 2,25,192 votes were cast in the constituency—1,13,853 men, 1,11,338 women, and one transgender person cast their votes.