BJP's Raghunandan Rao finally wins in Dubbaka: How the former TRS man jolted KCR out of his comfort zone

Perhaps no other victorious candidate across the country on Tuesday would relish his success as much as the BJP's Raghunandan Rao in Telangana's Dubbaka.

Raghunandan, an advocate, was trounced to third position in the 2014 and 2018 assembly elections here. He was also defeated in the Medak Lok Sabha constituency, comprising Dubbaka, in the general elections last year.

And it was the TRS, with which he was till 2013, that triumphed in all the three polls.

If only Raghunandan remained with Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao, he might have become a legislator much earlier.

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Raghunandan, also a Velama (a caste associated with landlords) as the Kalvakuntla family is, rose to a prominent position in the statehood agitation party. But he was “unceremoniously” removed from the TRS seven years back for “anti-party activities.”

Raghunandan, who joined the BJP, has from then on been unsuccessfully challenging the KCR and TRS power which only multiplied over the years.

But Raghunandan's fortune bloomed with the unfortunate death of the TRS's Dubbaka MLA Solipeta Ramalinga Reddy in August, due to cardiac arrest.

Dubbaka, nestled between Chief Minister KCR's Gajwel, his nephew and finance minister Harish Rao's Siddipet and IT, industries and municipal administration minister and KCR's son KT Rama Rao's Sircilla is seen by the locals as a patch of neglect amidst the three high profile constituencies.

Dubbaka voters complain that no mentionable development took place during the past six years TRS rule.

With his long association with the area, Raghunandan, with the support of BJP leadership vying for power in Telangana, succeeded in projecting the 3 November by-poll as a contest between KCR's might and the public aspiration for jobs, development in the constituency.

Read | Telangana: Jolt for TRS as BJP wins Dubbak Assembly bypoll in Telangana

On ground political observers said that the BJP victory was propelled by the youth who prevailed upon their parents, grandparents to vote for a change to elect “an educated and questioning voice.”

Though the TRS initially taunted Raghunandan saying he was fighting to retain his deposit, the week before the polls witnessed a high voltage campaign and drama with TRS focusing its political attacks on the BJP.

The BJP accused the TRS of large scale misuse of government machinery especially the police to target Raghunandan, alleging obstructions to his canvassing. It alleged that the Rs 18 lakh cash seized from the BJP contestant's relative house was planted by the police at TRS's behest.

While the TRS has put Solipeta's widow Sujatha as their candidate to garner sympathy votes, voters have evidently empathized with BJP's Raghunandan.

On Tuesday, Raghunandan drubbed the TRS with a 1079 vote majority.