Will BJP's Rajgopal Reddy too "fall sick" on the eve of by-election in Munugode

HYDERABAD: What's BJP nominee Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy scheming? The Munugode by-election is scheduled for November 3, 2022.

And now, if sources are to be believed, it seems that "something may happen" to the BJP's candidate just on the eve of polling. Rajgopal Reddy may 'fall ill" just to reenact the usual template of the BJP in Telangana, in an effort to garner sympathy from the electors.

Whenever the Bharatiya Janata Party goes to polls in Telangana, it follows a standard template in a dramatic bid to strike a sentimental chord with the electorate.

The factor that can generate sympathy among the electors on the contesting candidate of the BJP will be triggered usually on the eve of the elections — precisely less than a week before the polling date.

However, if the candidacy of a particular leader has to be effectively indoctrinated or injected into the minds of the people, the sympathy factor will be triggered well in advance, like in the case of former Health Minister Etala Rajender.

If we recall, Etala Rajender fell ill on the 12th day of his Praja Deevena Yatra, a tour he had planned in Huzurabad Assembly constituency, just to invoke sympathy among voters for his victory ahead of the Huzurabad by-elections.

He reportedly became ill after arriving in Kondapaka village, Veenavanka mandal. Rajender's blood pressure had dropped to 90/60, and his sugar levels had risen to 265. Because his oxygen levels were low, the doctors advised him to stop his padayatra and be shifted to Hyderabad.

BJP Huzurabad MLA Etala Rajender at NIMS Hospital in July, 2021

Rajender was eventually shifted to Hyderabad and admitted to the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences.What happened next? Etala Rajender defeated TRS candidate Gellu Srinivas Yadav by a margin of 23,855 votes in the Huzurabad bypoll.

In fact, Raghunandan Rao who had contested from Dubbaka Assembly Constituency was seen campaigning for the byelection with a fractured hand and won the Dubbaka election by a landslide. While Dubbaka election happened on November 3, 2020, he moved in people with a sling on October 29, 2019.

BJP Dubbaka MLA Raghunandan Rao while campaigning for Dubbaka elections in November 2021

State BJP president Bandi Sanjay had created this template and adopted this just on the eve of the 2019 general elections.

Telangana BJP President Bandi Sanjay admitted in a hospital on April 9, 2019

There is a pattern in the BJP's way of causing by-elections. The theee bypolls happened almost the same time every years since 2020. While Dubbaka by-election was conducted on November 3, 2020, Huzurabad by-election was held on October 30, 2021. And, now Munugode is slated for November 3, 2022.

And, knowledgeable sources alerted contesting parties that "something untoward" (enacting a show that would evoke sympathy) happening to Rajgopal Reddy is imminent.