The forthcoming by-election to Huzurabad assembly seat, which has fallen vacant due to resignation of former minister Eatala Rajender seems to be turning more and more curious with each passing day.
While Rajender, presently Bharatiya Janata Party candidate is pulling out all stops to retain the seat, the TRS is making all out efforts and pumping in hundreds of crores to wrest the seat from him and prove its supremacy.
The Congress, which knows that it has little chances of winning the seat, is also trying to put up a tough fight in Huzurabad by fielding former minister Konda Surekha, at least to retain the deposit and keep up its prestige.
However, the contest in Huzurabad is likely to turn interesting with the reports of YSR Telangana Party headed by Y S Sharmila, sister of Andhra Pradesh chief minster Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, entering the fray albeit indirectly.
According to her party sources, Sharmila won’t field any candidates on behalf of the party in Huzurabad as announced earlier, but would encourage a bunch of unemployed youth to file nominations as independents to highlight the KCR government’s indifferent attitude in filling up job vacancies. She would campaign for them in the by-election.
Now, the latest reports indicate that even Bahujan Samaj Party is likely to enter the contest in Huzurabad.
Former IPS officer Dr R S Praveen Kumar, who took voluntary retirement from service to join the BSP, is said to be under pressure to contest the by-elections to counter the TRS attempt to capitalise on Dalit Bandhu scheme.
There are around 50,000 Dalit votes in Huzurabad and if Praveen Kumar enters the fray, he would definitely attract a majority of these votes, besides a large number of BC votes. Thus, the BSP might emerge as a surprising winner in the by-election.
But sources said Praveen Kumar is not very keen on contesting the by-election in Huzurabad, because if he cannot win the seat, it would spell doom for his political career.
Secondly, he is an outsider to Huzurabad and both the TRS and the BJP might highlight the point to defeat him.
However, Praveen Kumar is not averse to the BSP contesting the by-elections.
The party is said to be looking for a suitable local Dalit leader to contest and even if he cannot win the seat, he would definitely play a spoilsport with the chances of the TRS.
It is learnt Praveen Kumar might take a call on whether he should contest or field another Dalit candidate in Huzurabad when he addresses a public meeting in Karimnagar on August 26.
It will be an interesting battle in Huzurabad if both the YSRTP and BSP enter the fray.