Bypoll battle: TRS plan to storm Congress bastion Nalgonda

HYDERABAD: The stage is set for a semi-final ahead of general elections with the ruling TRS party zeroing in on candidates for the Nalgonda and Alampur assembly constituencies both of which fell vacant after the sitting legislators were expelled.
The party has decided to field Kancharla Bhoopal Reddy as its candidate against Komatireddy Venkata Reddy of the Congress. From Alampur segment, the names of Mandha Srinath, son of former MP Manda Jagannadham, Bandari Bhaskar and Abraham are being considered by the chief minister.
On Wednesday, the CM held a meeting with senior ministers at Pragati Bhavan in which K Bhoopal Reddy was also present.The CM asked Bhoopal to prepare to contest the bypoll which may happen in a month or two. The strategy committee felt that the bypolls would be held along with the Karnataka assembly polls in May–June.
The CM is planning to make ministers T Harish Rao and Tummla Nageswara Rao incharges for the two assembly constituencies. They, along with a few MLAs, will camp in these constituencies and monitor the campaign.
A proposal to hold the TRS party’s plenary in Nalgonda is also being considered by the CM. As of now, the plenary is to be held in Hyderabad on April 27. “We are going to win the Nalgonda seat with over 40,000 votes majority. The victory will teach a lesson to the Congress which has become a major hurdle for the development of the state,” energy minister G Jagadish Reddy told TOI.
By winning in Nalgonda, the ruling party wants to demoralise the main opposition whose leaders mostly belong to Nalgonda district. PCC president Uttam Kumar Reddy, Congress legislature party leader K Jana Reddy, leader Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and his brother Rajgopal Reddy hail from Nalgonda district.