Fissures within BRS After KCR Releases First List

HYDERABAD: After Chief Minister and BRS party chief K. Chandrashekar Rao announced 115 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections, dissension has grown within the ruling party. Ticket aspirants, including senior leaders who were denied tickets, are exploring alternative options, while some have quit the party.

Just a day after Khanapur MLA Rekha Naik resigned from the BRS and filed a nomination with the Congress, former Nakrekal MLA Vemula Veeresham, who was hoping for a ticket from Nakrekal, resigned on Wednesday. The resignation has shocked the BRS and he is likely to join the Congress. Veeresham plans to organise a large public meeting and officially join the Congress in the presence of senior leaders.

Similarly, former MLC T. Santosh Kumar from Karimnagar also resigned on Wednesday. In a statement, Santosh said he joined the BRS in 2018 trusting Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao's promises for the development of Telangana. However, he now feels that the party's policies have not served the people of Telangana justly.

In Kodad, BRS leaders opposed Bollam Mallaiah Yadav’s candidature for the Kodad constituency. Former MLA Chander Rao and former Market Committee chairman Sashidhar Reddy opposed the Chief Minister's decision citing his involvement in illegal activities. They urged BRS leaders to reconsider and choose a more suitable candidate.

Among the visibly disappointed BRS MLAs is former deputy chief minister Tatikonda Rajaiah, the current MLA from Station Ghanpur constituency in Jangaon district. The party tried to mollify him by sending its MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy to meet with Rajaiah on Wednesday. However, Rajeshwar's efforts were in vain, as Rajaiah reportedly declined to meet him, informing him over the phone that he couldn't meet immediately and possibly would do so on Thursday.

Meanwhile, efforts were made to pacify senior BRS leader and former minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, who had hoped for a ticket to contest from the Paleru constituency in Khammam district. Party MP from Khammam, Nama Nageswara Rao, along with BRS MLA N. Bhaskar Rao from Miryalguda constituency, met with Tummala on Wednesday to discuss the future and encourage him to stay with the BRS and support its candidates in the upcoming elections in Khammam district.