Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Achampet sitting MLA and candidate in the upcoming Assembly polls Guvvala Balraj was attacked by Congress workers alleging that he was going to distribute money in the constituency. The incident took place around 3 am on Sunday, November 12 when Congress workers stopped the MLA’s car. Visuals from the scene show Balraj’s car being swarmed by Congress workers who attacked the vehicle even as police officials were present.
Balraj is currently admitted at Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad’s Jubilee Hills. BRS national spokesperson Putta Vishnuvardhan Reddy said that Balraj suffered an injury on his face. BRS working president KT Rama Rao and state Finance Minister T Harish Rao both visited Balraj in the hospital later on Sunday.
Telangana goes to the polls on November 30, with the Congress being the main opposition to the ruling BRS. The BRS has been accused of distributing money in the past as well, especially in the Munugode bye-election last year. The Forum for Good Governance had then called it the ‘most expensive’ bye-poll, stating that Rs 600 crore was spent.
As the poll date draws closer, campaigns by the BRS, Congress, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have begun to heat up. BJP’s Patancheru seat candidate Nandeeshwar Goud filed his nomination on November 9 by taking out a huge rally with bulldozers. The machines were decked up with BJP and saffron flags featuring Lord Hanuman, which were in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). Bulldozers in India, especially in BJP run states, have become a symbol of the party’s style of dishing out ‘instant justice’ by demolishing homes under the guise of removing illegal encroachments, and mostly target Muslims.
In the 2018 Assembly polls, the BRS had won 88 out of 119 seats, while the Congress and Telugu Desam Party in an alliance won just 19 and two seats respectively.
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