Hyderabad: While all political parties are almost all-set to fight the by-poll at Huzurabad, the schedule of which is said to be out anytime soon, the Telangana government is planning to get it deferred.
Huzurabad seat has fallen vacant due to resignation of sitting MLA and former minister Eatala Rajender. Reports earlier had said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was lobbying for early elections in Huzurabad to take advantage of the sympathy for Rajender among the voters and if more time is given, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) might get the mileage by distributing Rs 10 lakh each to the Dalit families under Dalit Bandhu scheme, besides taking up various developmental activities in Huzurabad.
The election schedule is expected by the end of this month.
But looks like TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao has a strategy to get the elections to Huzurabad postponed. He is said to be planning to submit a report to the Election Commission stating that the COVID-19 situation in Karimnagar was alarming and not congenial for conducting the elections.
Few days ago, Telangana state medical and health director G Srinivasa Rao particularly visited Karimnagar district to oversee the COVID-19 situation. He told the reporters later that the number of cases in Karimnagar have been on the rise in the recent past, along with six other districts.
“The main reason for this increasing number of cases is increasing political activity. If the leaders and the people do not take adequate precautions, there is every possibility of a third wave affecting the state,” Rao warned. Sources said the TRS government is taking this increase in COVID-19 cases as an excuse to get the elections postponed.
COVID-19 cases in Karimnagar have indeed been on the rise. With 43 cases on Monday, the district recorded the second-highest number of infections as Hyderabad registered 68 cases.