Chandrababu Naidu troubled by Rajya Sabha candidates’ selection

Hyderabad: Selecting two Rajya Sabha candidates is proving to be a big headache for Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu. There are a large number of ticket aspirants including senior party leaders, which is making his job all the more harder.

Absence of senior party MLA and ticket aspirant, M. Narasimhulu in the Assembly on Friday created a flutter in party circles. Rumours started doing the rounds that Narasimhulu was sulking over hints that he might not be considered for an RS nomination and the party was planning to draft him for the Assembly polls again.

“Narasimhulu skipped Assembly as there was too much media focus on him over the Rajya Sabha ticket. His open demand for allotment of the RS ticket, lack of support from senior Telangana-TD leaders like Revuri Prakash Reddy and others have reportedly hurt him. He plans to keep away from Assembly for two days,”?said a source close to him.

Going by past experience, TD leaders say Naidu will most probably select one candidate from Seemandhra and another from Telangana, besides ensuring the caste equation.

A section of party leaders have been backing party general secretary, Garikapati Ram Mohan Rao from Warangal. The other aspirants include K. Ramamohan Rao, S. Chandramohan Reddy, and Nannapaneni Rajkumari.

Though Balakrishna’s name figured from the NTR clan, he is reportedly eyeing an Assembly ticket. Many senior party leaders are also seeking Lok Sabha tickets in view of the fluid political situation in the state, severe fallout due to bifurcation, a likely alliance with the BJP and prospects of a big win for the BJP riding on the Modi wave.

Party MLAs like A. Revanth Reddy and P. Mahender Reddy are eyeing the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat, while seniors like P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju too are apparently seeking Lok Sabha tickets.