Jubilee Hills Bypoll: Congress campaign revolves around abusing KCR, misleading people

Congress leaders, including BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and MLA K Shankaraiah, focused their Jubilee Hills bypoll campaign on criticising the BRS and its leadership, avoiding mention of Congress’s own schemes or promises made during the 2023 Assembly elections

Hyderabad: Summing up the Congress campaign ahead of the Jubilee Hills bypoll is quite easy after moving around with its ‘star campaigners’. It largely revolves around criticising former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, defaming the previous BRS government, and misleading people with claims that the Congress is already winning the bypoll.

After realising that there was little point in talking about the promises made to the public, given the government’s failure to implement them, Congress leaders have resorted to different tactics instead of highlighting the welfare and development activities taken up by their government.

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“Naveen Yadav ko dua do, Congress jeet raha hai (bless Naveen Yadav, Congress is winning),” BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar told an elderly woman at Krishna Nagar C Block.

Accompanied by Shadnagar MLA K Shankaraiah, the Minister conducted a door-to-door campaign in Venkatagiri, Masjid Lane and Krishna Nagar areas of the constituency on Saturday. Alleging that the BRS and its candidate Maganti Sunitha were seeking votes by invoking sympathy, the Minister cited the Secunderabad Cantonment bypoll results and said the sympathy card would not work in the Jubilee Hills by-election.

“The people have understood the hidden agenda between the BRS and BJP. The BRS could not win a single Parliament seat and did not contest the recent MLC elections,” Prabhakar said, adding that though he could not predict the majority, Naveen Yadav was winning comfortably.

A major part of the Congress campaign appears confined to defaming the BRS and accusing the previous government of failing to ensure development. Ponnam even alleged that the BRS government had not provided single-bedroom houses for the poor and had instead demolished their homes.

Interestingly, Congress leaders began speaking about government schemes and programmes only when media persons sought their comments on the campaign and people’s feedback. There were also complaints from residents, ranging from poor civic amenities to bad roads.

When a woman complained about waterlogging in Krishna Nagar during the recent heavy rains, the Minister assured her that the issue would be addressed.

Earlier in the day, Shadnagar MLA Shankaraiah made light of the BRS’s confidence in winning the bypoll and instead targeted the BRS chief, claiming that he required “treatment.”

“The Congress party is prepared to extend treatment to the BRS chief. If required, Naveen Yadav will take up the responsibility after winning the bypoll,” Shankaraiah was heard telling voters, also referring to the former Chief Minister as an old man.

There was no mention of the Six Guarantees, the Rs 2,500 promised to women, the jobs promised to the unemployed, or any reference to the other assurances in the Congress manifesto for the 2023 Assembly elections.