Onus on KTR to do encore in Lok Sabha polls in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: It would be a big test for BRS working president KT Rama Rao who is spearheading the party’s campaign in the State capital for the Lok Sabha elections, to replicate the Assembly poll performance when the pink party had won majority city segments.

While BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao is campaigning through his roadshows as part of the bus yatra, KTR is sweating out in the city segments in support of the candidates in three of the four LS segments in Hyderabad. There are four LS seats in the city, including Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Malkajgiri and Chevella.

While the Hyderabad candidate is not even in the picture in the campaign, the three segments assume importance because the party had won a majority of seats there.

In the Assembly elections, the city voters saved BRS from getting routed in the State. The victory margins from the city segments had added to the party’s voter percentage. The difference between the Congress and the BRS remained just 1.8 per cent.

KTR had taken up an extensive campaign for the party candidates, which resulted in a big success that ultimately saved the BRS. During a TV debate, he said that people of the city were wise as they did not fall prey to the promises of the Congress party. The party had won all seven segments in the Malkajgiri LS constituency. Similarly, the BRS had won six of the seven segments in Secunderabad and four segments in the Chevella LS constituency, showing the upper hand over the Congress. The BRS leader is seen extensively campaigning for the party candidates like Ragidi Lakshma Reddy (Malkajgiri), T Padma Rao Goud (Secunderabad) and Kasani Gnaneshwar Mudiraj (Chevella). The party leaders express confidence that the young leader would continue the performance of the Assembly elections. A BRS leader recalled that KTR was attracting people from different sections in his roadshows.

During a roadshow in Malkajgiri, Rao said if people want Hyderabad to be a world-class city, they should vote for BRS. “If people want the city to be in communal riots and curfew, then it is their wish,” he said. He is warning that the Centre might designate Hyderabad as a Union Territory, while urging people to safeguard the city. It will be intriguing to observe in which direction the city voters will lean towards in the upcoming elections on May 13, with results expected on June 4.