Will delay in Huzurabad by-polls benefit Cong?

Will delay in conducting by-elections to the Huzurabad Assembly constituency benefit the Congress party? Party insiders feel so. They say if the party gets more time, it can regroup its cadre, zero in on a strong candidate, and take steps to minimise the impact of desertions from the party in the constituency.

"We expect some delay in the by-elections. If that happens, Congress stands to benefit," a senior Congress leader said.

The Huzurabad Assembly seat fell vacant on June 12 after senior TRS leader Eatala Rajender resigned from the seat after he was dropped from the TRS government Cabinet over allegations of illegal land dealings. The Election Commission of India is required to hold by-elections to this seat within six months of it falling vacant. That way, the by-poll process needs to be completed before December 12 this year.

However, as the EC holds by-polls across the country at one ago, there are ample chances of holding Huzurabad polls early. In West Bengal, seven Assembly seats are vacant now and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who lost in the Nandigram seat in the recent elections, is required to get elected as an MLA before November 5 to retain the Chief Minister's chair. If EC holds by-elections before the key date, then elections to the Huzurabad seat will also be held early. However, there are also chances of the polls getting delayed indefinitely if Covid rages its ugly head again in its third avatar. Such a delay will be beneficial to the Congress in Huzurabad, its leaders say.

Rajender, a four-time Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLA who played a key role in the Telangana movement, had since joined BJP and is most likely to be the saffron party's candidate for the by-polls.The ruling TRS party is yet to declare its candidate for the hot seat though it has succeeded in attracting key leaders from rival parties including BJP and Congress.

Padi Kaushik Reddy, who contested against Rajender on the Congress ticket in 2018 and secured over 60,000 votes, shifted his loyalties to TRS and joined the pink party on July 21. Earlier, Muddani Kashyap Reddy, son of former TDP Minister Muddasani Damodar Reddy also joined the pink party. BJP leader E Peddi Reddy is also expected to shift his loyalties to TRS due to local political equations.

With some of its key leaders in the constituency going to TRS, Congress is on the look-out for a new face. Though the State Congress leadership considered the idea of fielding former Karimnagar MP Ponnam Prabhakar, he is said to be not keen on jumping into the poll fray. Telangana Congress leadership is hopeful of finding a suitable candidate and putting a strong fight as the Huzurabad by-polls will be the first elections the party will face after Anumula Revanth Reddy took over as TPCC chief, says a party leader.