The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India (CPI) have decided to back the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in the upcoming Nagarjuna Sagar bye-election, as the campaign for the poll heats up.

The bye-election for the constituency was necessitated with the sudden demise of ruling TRS party's sitting MLA Nomula Narsimhaiah, who was also a former CPI(M) leader and had served as an MLA on its ticket earlier.

Both the Left parties, which used to have a significant presence in erstwhile Nalgonda district, have decided not to contest while Congress has fielded senior leader Jana Reddy. The TRS has fielded Nomula Bhagath, Narsimhaiah’s son, while the BJP has fielded Scheduled Tribe (ST) leader Ravi Nayak. 

In the 2018 general Assembly elections, CPI contested alone while CPI(M) contested as part of a Bahujan Left front, with as many as 25 parties. In the Huzurnagar bye election, though the CPI(M) had contested, its candidate was disqualified and in Dubbaka bye elections, both the parties had not contested.

Though it was evident that both parties were losing ground in the state since the formation of Telangana, their lack of interest in the Nagarjuna Sagar bye-elections seems to be a clear indication of this.

Both the parties on Monday in a statement urged their cadres to support the TRS candidate in the upcoming bye-poll. Repeated attempts by TNM to reach out to the state executive committee members of both parties went unanswered.

There are as many as 46 candidates in the fray, that include candidates from main parties and independents. Later this week, TRS chief and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) is set to hold a grand campaign meeting in the constituency. Voting for the bye-poll is scheduled to take place on April 17 and counting of votes will take place on May 2.