Telangana bypoll could be pointer to Assembly elections

Hyderabad: Telangana is likely to witness another crucial bypoll ahead of 2023 Legislative Assembly elections with Congress legislator from Munugode constituency, Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy announcing his resignation from the party and as MLA. Rajagopal Reddy on Tuesday evening said he would seek time from the Legislative Assembly Speaker to submit his resignation. A by-election to Munugode segment is inevitable as the Legislative Assembly elections are more than a year away, towards the end of 2023. The bypoll should be held within six months after a seat is declared vacant. The process of by-election is expected to commence depending on how soon the Speaker accepts the resignation of Rajagopal Reddy. The by-election would assume significance as it would give momentum, ahead of the Assembly polls, to the party that wins. The three principal political players in the state -- ruling TRS, BJP and Congress -- would vie to win the Munugode seat in view of its massive importance. TRS would be keen to win the by-poll as a loss would give ammunition to the opposition to target the ruling party. Speculation is rife that Rajagopal Reddy would join the BJP. Though he has not yet announced his decision officially, he has repeatedly maintained that only BJP, under the leadership of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, can put an end to the family rule of TRS. The BJP is expected to make all out effort to wrest Munugode and give a fillip to its campaign for the Assembly polls.  – PTI