R. Krishnaiah, who is considered the Telugu Desam Party’s candidate for the chief minister’s post in Telangana, was injured when supporters of a party rebel attacked him at Saroornagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Mr. Krishnaiah, the TDP candidate for L.B. Nagar assembly seat, was attacked when he was going to file his nomination. The attackers damaged his car. The police managed to rescue him and chased away the assailants.
A leader of the backward classes, he recently joined the TDP, which has promised to make a backward class leader the chief minister if the party comes to power in Telangana.
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The TDP’s alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has led to resentment in certain sections of the party with protests outside the residence of TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu by those opposing the alliance. The TDP activists are unhappy with the leadership for leaving several seats considered their stronghold for the BJP.
Meanwhile, supporters of two TDP leaders in Khammam district clashed over the choice of candidates. TDP candidate for Khammam Lok Sabha seat Nama Nageswara Rao had to face the ire of supporters of another district leader, Balasani. The latter alleged that Nageswara Rao denied him the ticket for the assembly election.
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In another incident, Jai Samaikyandhra Party (JSP) candidate for the Khammam Lok Sabha seat Nagarjuna Rao was attacked at Madhira in Khammam district Wednesday. Mr. Rao was injured when Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) workers attacked his car as he was proceeding to file his nomination papers.
The TRS activists threatened to kill the JSP leader, saying a political party from Andhra has no place in Telangana.
JSP was floated last month by former chief minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who quit his post and the Congress to protest the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
In Nalgonda also, the TDP office was ransacked by supporters of leaders who were denied tickets.