By Anvesh Reddy

Ever since getting elected to the legislative assembly during the 2004 election, caretaker minister for Irrigation T Harish Rao has not looked back. He was elected to the Assembly for a record fifth time in a span of just 14 years. At just 46 years of age, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader would go on to create a national record if elected as Siddipet MLA for the sixth time in the upcoming Assembly elections. That the people of Siddipet constituency had voted Harish Rao to power on five occasions speaks volumes for his runaway lead in the elections, scheduled to be held on December 7, 2018.

At a young age of 34, Harish Rao was elected as a TRS MLA from Siddipet for the first time in 2004, when the TRS formed an alliance with the UPA. TRS Chief K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) was inducted to the Union Ministry under then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while Harish Rao served as a State minister in late Chief Minister Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy's cabinet. All along the Telangana agitation, Harish Rao was arguably the most influential TRS leader next to party Chief KCR.

The 2014 general elections to the Lok Sabha and the legislative assembly election, which were held in the context of the Statehood to Telangana, were dominated by the TRS across constituencies. More so in Siddipet, where Congress candidate Taduri Srinivas Goud stood distant second to Harish Rao (73%) with a vote share of just 10%. BJP's Soppadandi Vidyasagar stood third with a 9% voting in favour of his election.

Keeping in view the series of unanimous resolutions in favour of Harish Rao in the constituency, it appears that the Congress grand alliance stares at a daunting task of beating him. If Harish Rao goes on to win from Siddipet yet again, his name would feature in the record books as the youngest MLA to have been elected six times at 46 years, beating a long-standing record of KM Mani, the former Kerala MLA who was elected a record sixth time in 1982 at an age of 49.

Watch this space for more updates on Telangana Assembly election 2018.

Also Read: Congress Jittery After Release Of TRS Partial Manifesto: Kadiyam

Also Read: Telangana Elections: TRS Leaders Party Hopping