Parties try to get rebels withdraw from poll fray

Hyderabad: Twenty-eight candidates are learned to have withdrawn their nominations in Gajwel, where Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao is contesting, leaving 86 in the fray for the November 30 Assembly elections. The Election Commission is expected to announce this officially on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the BRS, Congress, and the BJP have stepped up efforts to convince independents and rebels to withdraw from the fray by Wednesday, when the deadline to withdraw nominations ends, to avoid a vote split.

With 2,898 candidates currently in the fray — a majority being independents — parties are worried that they may mar their winning prospects due to a vote split as several of them are rebels who were denied tickets. A few rebels secured tickets from national parties like the BSP and registered unrecognised parties.

The BRS leadership is focused on Chandrashekar Rao’s Gajwel and Kamareddy constituencies, where unemployed youths have filed their papers to protest against the BRS government's failure to fill up vacancies.

Ministers K.T. Rama Rao and Harish Rao held discussions with independents on Tuesday and promised to resolve all their issues after the BRS returns to power for a third term in December. BRS leaders are hopeful of a large number of independents withdrawing nominations on the last day on Wednesday.

Manikrao Thakre, AICC incharge for Telangana, and B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, TPCC working president, and senior leaders held discussions with independents and rebels. The Congress team assured the rebels that their interests would be looked after once the party came to power.

The BJP leadership told disgruntled independents and rebels that there was the possibility of a 'hung Assembly' and the party would play a key role in the formation of the new government when they would be rewarded.