Polls apart

Two states, two byelections. One an intense battle of money, the other a potential walkover

- RAHUL DEVULAPALLI

IF RIVAL CANDIDATES of the Huzurabad bypoll would agree on one thing, it is that this could be the country’s most expensive election. A senior Congress leader, who is in charge of a segment within the constituency, even said, “US President Biden’s campaign would pale in comparison given all this spending.”

Huzurabad, which votes on October 30, lies in Karimnagar district in north Telangana. Eatala Rajender had won the seat six times; the former health minister used to be a close aide of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. Earlier this year, Rao threw him out of the cabinet, citing allegations of land grab. Hurt by Rao’s haste, Rajender accused him of stifling dissent; he resigned from the party and the assembly, triggering the byelection.

As it stands today, Rajender will run on a BJP ticket; he is out not only to settle a personal score but also to secure his political future. The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi has fielded Gellu Srinivas Yadav, a youth leader and a former aide of Rajender. The party, however, is banking on Rao’s image. The Congress, in a surprise move, chose National Students’Union of India leader Balmoor Venkat.

After Rajender resigned in early June, the state’s politics has centred on Huzurabad. In August, when the government launched the Dalit Bandhu scheme—a direct benefit transfer initiative—the opposition alleged that Rao was only doing this to appeal to the Dalits in Huzurabad, around 50,000 of the 2.3 lakh voters. Rao doubled down, launching the pilot in Huzurabad. He also said the government would spend ₹1.8 lakh crore on the scheme. The Election Commission of India has stayed the project for now.