It has been more than three months since the Telangana State was formed, fulfilling the long-pending desire of the people of the region. As such, there is no meaning in talking about Samaikyandhra at this stage. But, the TRS is thinking otherwise. It still wants to capitalize on the Telangana sentiment by playing the Samaikyandhra card to woo voters of Medak Parliamentary constituency.

On Saturday, Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao sought to attack the BJP candidate T Jayaprakash Reddy alias Jagga Reddy on the Samaikyandhra plank. Addressing an election meeting, Harish Rao alleged that Jagga Reddy was fielded as the BJP candidate in Medak by-polls by the Seemandhra lobby led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu.

He said voting for Jagga Reddy would be like voting in favour of Samaikhyandhra and Chandrababu Naidu himself. Therefore, he asked the people to out rightly reject Jagga Reddy in the by-elections. He recalled that Jagga Reddy had offered to quit politics in case of formation of Telangana. However, he continued in politics and lost the last Assembly elections.

Compared to Jagga Reddy, he said former MP Lagadapati Rajagopal kept his word and quit active politics after AP’s bifurcation. He said this time the people of Medak would force Jagga Reddy to take political sanyas due to his anti-Telangana stand during the statehood movement. The minister alleged that the Telangana BJP was playing into the hands of some ‘Seemandhra Babus’ including Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, Chandrababu Naidu and cine star Pavan Kalyan.