Munugode, a nondescript Assembly constituency in Telangana, has become the cynosure in the state political arena as political bigwigs descend on the town to woo voters.
The Munugode Assembly segment in Nalgonda district fell vacant after sitting legislator K Rajgopal Reddy tendered his resignation. The town is all set to witness a public rally by Amit Shah on Sunday, a day after Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao tore into the BJP in a meeting.
Rao, in his address, challenged Shah to answer as to why the Centre has not yet decided the Krishna river water sharing formula for the state. He alleged that the Centre has not decided on the share of river water even after eight years since Telangana's formation.
Political temperature has risen in Telangana as the outcome of the upcoming bypoll to the Munugode Assembly segment is expected to give a perceptual edge to the winner ahead of next year's Assembly elections.
While Congress has decided to fight tooth and nail to retain the seat, the BJP on the other hand wants to prove that it is the "alternative" to the ruling TRS by clinching the segment. The TRS on its part was pooling all resources to win the Munugode seat to prove a point that people of the state are with the ruling party no matter when the Assembly elections come. It may be noted that securing the second position will be a significant achievement as the party which comes second can claim that it is the principal challenger of the winner.
Rajgopal Reddy will be joining BJP in the presence of Shah, sources in the saffron party said, adding Reddy would be contesting as its candidate as and when bypolls are held, thus having a head start. Both Congress and TRS are yet to decide their candidates.
The BJP in Telangana is already on a high after winning two Assembly bypolls and putting up a decent performance in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections during the last two years. While the saffron party banks on anti-establishment votes and alleged "family rule" of Rao, the TRS is confident of winning the seat by showcasing the welfare and developmental schemes that the state government has been undertaking for the past eight years.
As per the 2018 Assembly Poll statistics, Munugode has 2,17,791 voters. Rajgopal Reddy polled 97,239 votes defeating his nearest TRS rival K Prabhakar Reddy by a majority of 22,552 votes. BJP candidate G Manohar Reddy secured 12,725 (6.4 per cent of the total votes polled).