Leaders swarm Palair constituency

Khammam: If you're a political observer, it is quite difficult to miss the Palair bypoll blitzkrieg right now. Charges of poll code violations, challenges, hurling of choicest invectives, open letters, accusations and counter accusations, and what not between the ruling TRS and the Congress as the electioneering reached its crescendo on Thursday.

• Hurl accusations and counter-accusations are hurled at each other
• Congress complains to the Election Commission that the TRS candidate is threatening the voters, saying that he can secure the details of who vote for whom EVM-wise

As the May 16 polling nears, cream of Congress and TRS leaders, who have descended on the constituency, are leaving no stone unturned to woo the voters. On a day that witnessed hectic political activity on Thursday, the Congress dashed off a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi, complaining that TRS nominee Tummala Nageswar Rao was threatening the voters.

The letter written by the DCC president Aitham Satyam said that Nageswara Rao while addressing a public meeting at Gattu Singaram village under Kusumanchi mandal threatened the voters saying, “If people vote other than him, all the particulars of voters of each Eelectronic Voting Machines will come to me and I will come to know who has voted to whom.”

The party reportedly sent a CD containing the speech of Nageswara Rao along with the letter. The Congress demanded immediate disqualification of Nageswara Rao as he had violated the election code of conduct. Meanwhile, in an open letter to the people of Palair constituency, IT Minister K T Rama Rao, who is in-charge of the TRS’ poll campaign, said: “Congress, Telugu Desam and YSR Congress leaders are playing second fiddle to the government of neighbouring State AP by obstructing the development in Telangana.”

Referring to the double standards of the Congress leaders in Maharashtra and Telangana, he criticised that party leaders for opposing State’s irrigation projects. He said that T TDP is no different. While their counterparts in AP are trying to stop the projects, the T TDP leaders are not supporting the cause of Telangana State. KTR also found fault with the TDP’s nexus with the Congress. Addressing a meeting of INTUC workers here, the TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy labelled the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao as anti-working class.

Talking to media persons, Congress Legislature Party leader K Jana Reddy alleged that KCR is trying to terrorise the people to win the election. He found fault with the TRS government for changing the names of irrigation projects and propagandising them as their own. Jana Reddy questioned TRS nominee Nageswar Rao whether he had ever taken part in Telangana movement.