HYDERABAD: Although the starting gun for the race to power in Telangana state is yet to go off, the three major parties of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have started working on candidate lists, with hopefuls already making their pitches, aided by rumours or threats of defection.
The BRS is likely to be the first to release the initial list of candidates in the three-horse race, to be followed closely by an increasingly pugnacious Congress, with the BJP — which appears to have adopted a sanguine attitude — expected to name its contenders only after a multi-level vetting, and final approval by its national leadership.
Seeking to retain the crown for the third time running, the BRS is expected to release its first list in the last week of August or the first week of September, with a few incumbents already having made the cut.
In 2018, Rao announced the BRS’ first list on September 6 for the December Assembly polls, releasing a list of 105 names to match his lucky number, six. A BRS source said that this time too, Rao’s lucky number will be in play and that the first list will have the names of 87 candidates.
All eyes are on the Kamareddy seat, in the wake of reports that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao may opt for the segment instead of Gajwel, which he currently represents.
Kamareddy BRS MLA Gampa Goverdhan’s repeated comments that he thrice requested Rao to contest from Kamareddy, and that the Chief Minister responded positively, have lent some traction to this speculation.
The Congress, seeking to demonstrate its confidence, is expected to get its first list out in the first or second week of September, with the names likely to be of those who are sure-shot candidates, including its sitting MLAs. The list is expected to include the likes of TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy (Kodangal), Komatireddy Venkat Reddy (Nalgonda), Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka (Madhira), D. Sreedhar Babu (Manthani), Danasari Seethakka (Mulugu), and T. Jagga Reddy (Sangareddy), among others.
“Not all names can be released at once as there are several factors that will come into play. But some strong aspirants will likely be told to start working in their chosen constituencies, while seats that the party is not certain about will be the last to find nominees,” a party leader said.
A Congress vice-president said the lists are not likely to be released early, despite wishes to the contrary.
“We are hoping to declare SC, ST and BC seats early. The BRS list could come much earlier than ours. We hope to announce 30 to 40 names to start with,” the leader said.
The third major player, the BJP, is expected not to rush off the blocks, but instead, trot along and not worry about being first in the race to announce names.
Party leaders said there are some, such as Rama Devi (Mudhole), Rao Padma (Hanamkonda), Payal Shankar (Adilabad), Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy (Munugode) and Etala Rajendar (Huzurabad), who already know where they will fight the poll battle from.
“The BJP will not be in a hurry to announce its candidates and the final say will be that of the party’s national leadership. But we are confident that we already have candidates who are on top of the contenders for the party tickets in 40 to 50 constituencies,” a senior BJP leader said.
