The Telangana Rashtra Samiti on Sunday announced the candidates for all three seats in the Telangana Legislative Council going to polls from MLAs constituency in a fortnight and assured renomination from the Governor’s quota for two MLCs who joined the party from Congress.
Assurance given
The candidates for election by MLAs include Alimineti Krishna Reddy, Mynampalli Hanumantha Rao and V. Gangadhar Goud. While Mr. Krishna Reddy was with Telangana Rashtra Samiti from day one, Mr. Rao and Mr. Goud switched from the Telugu Desam Party. Mr. Goud is a sitting MLC who led the defection of the entire Telugu Desam group in the Council to the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and was reportedly assured of renomination on expiry of his term shortly.
A release from the Chief Minister’s Offuice said Telangana Rashtra Samiti president and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had decided to recommend the names of two other sitting MLCs D. Rajeswara Rao and Mr. Farooq Hussain for renomination from the Governor’s quota.
They were nominated by Congress from the same quota six years ago.
The TRS has already backed Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (MIM) candidate Syed Amin-ul-Asad Jafri who was elected unopposed from local bodies constituency and fielded K. Janardhan Reddy from teachers constituency.
The election to five seats from MLAs, local bodies and teachers constituencies and nomination from Governor’s quota mark the conclusion of the biennial elections to the 40-member Council in 2017.
Not well received
Sources said the selection of Mr. Krishna Reddy, chairman of the disciplinary committee of TRS till recently and elder brother of former Minister A. Madhava Reddy, and Mr. Hanumantha Rao was not received well among die-hard party loyalists. While Mr. Krishna Reddy had not stood by party during testing time and even supported a Telangana Rashtra Samiti rebel Jitta Balakrishna Reddy in 2009 Assembly elections from Bhongir against the former’s sister-in-law Uma Madhava Reddy, Mr. Hanumantha Rao was accused of using intemperate language against the TRS chief and now Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao when he was in the TDP. He is presently Hyderabad president of Telangana Rashtra Samiti .
Moreover, Mr. Krishna Reddy comes from an Assembly constituency which is already represented by a TRS MP and MLA. His old age -- he is nearly 80 years -- was also pointed against him. On the other hand, civil supplies corporation chairman Peddi Sudarshan Reddy who was Warangal district president of TRS for a decade and stood by party in difficult times was mentioned as a better choice.
He also came from Narsampet where the Telangana Rashtra Samiti did not have an MLA.
The overlooking of student leader Errolla Srinivas whose juniors were elected MPs and MLAs also came as a shock to insiders of the party.
By conceding a seat to MIM, the TRS cemented its relationship with that party though it did not have strength to win from local bodies constituency.
