KTR in Munugode: I will adopt this constituency if the TRS candidate is elected

He promised the packed audience amidst applause that he would visit the constituency once every three months and make sure that it is developed on par with Sircilla, which he represents in the Assembly.

‘Munugode will be my responsibility,’ says KTR

“I will hold meetings with all the people’s representatives, your Minister G Jagadeeswar Reddy, and officials, to take up development works, mainly roads, which are in a deplorable state. Munugode is my responsibility,” he said.

TRS candidate K Prabhakar Reddy files his nomination in Munugode. (Supplied)

In his inimitable torrential rhetoric, the IT minister lit into the BJP for doing incalculable injustice to the state, as well as for picking a contractor as its candidate for the by-election.

“The BJP, which did not release even one paisa for the development of the state even though Niti Aayog had recommended ₹19,000 crore for Mission Bhagiratha, was ready to benefit Rajagopal Reddy with works worth ₹18,000 crore,” he said.

The crowd kept cheering the minister as he pilloried the BJP and tore into Rajagopal Reddy’s greed. He pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s munificence is for individuals and not for the nation or the state, but KCR’s interest was to benefit society at large.

Turnout causes traffic snarls

There was a groundswell all the way from Choutuppal to Chandur for KTR as he led a huge procession. As he set out for Chandur at Choutuppal, enthusiastic TRS workers showered rose petals on him with the help of drones.

At Samsthan Narayanpur, there was a traffic snarl as the crowd became unmanageable. After entering Chandur, more people joined the procession and it looked as though a huge column of humanity was moving as KTR’s convoy made progress, little by little, through the narrow roads.

In the middle of Chandur, he stopped the convoy and reeled off statistics of how the TRS government’s big ticket welfare schemes were benefiting the people despite the constituency lagging behind in development because of Rajagopal Reddy.

KTR came up with figures of how Aasara, Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bheema, Kalyan Lakshmi, and other welfare schemes transformed the lives of farmers, women, and the poorest of the poor.

The end of fluorosis

TRS Working President KTR having lunch with a fluorosis victim in Munugode. (Supplied)

He also gave an account of how KCR kept his promise to the people would see the last of case of fluorosis after Telangana became a separate state. He also dwelt at length on how erratic power supply used to be before the bifurcation of the state, and how the problem was behind them now.

Dubbing the Munugode by-election as a battle between the arrogance of a contractor and the self-respect of the people, KTR advised the electorate to watch out for Rajagopal Reddy as he was likely to use every trick in the bag to bribe them with his money.

“He has been given the funding in the form of contracts only to buy you out, but do not walk into his trap. Though I have no doubt about a landslide victory for TRS, yet I am cautioning you about the devious and questionable politics of Rajagopal Reddy,” he said.

Left parties support

CPI and CPM state secretaries K Sambasiva Rao and Thammineni Veerabhadram, respecively, spoke from the top of the campaign vehicle before KTR addressed the crowd and stressed the need to keep the BJP at bay as its policy of communalism portended danger to the nation.

Sambasiva Rao said that CPI backed the TRS only because KCR has turned out to be the most vocal critic of the BJP. Veerabhadram said that BJP, which draws its strength from the RSS, was out to saffronise the entire nation to perpetuate its agenda of varna vyavastha and Manu Smriti.