It’s an agonising wait for former Ministers Erasu Pratap Reddy, T.G. Venkatesh and Ganta Srinivasa Rao who switched loyalties from the Congress to the Telugu Desam Party recently.
The three former Ministers are reportedly waiting with bated breath for the third list of the Telugu Desam Party in the hope that their names would figure in the new list.
Though they were reportedly assured TDP tickets at the time of their joining the party, their anxiety levels are reportedly on the rise what with TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu announcing that the party would weigh several options, including the winning prospects, before allotting tickets to leaders who migrated from other parties.
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“The party leadership is firm on giving tickets only to winning horses,” a senior leader pointed out.
The TDP’s first list of Seemandhra candidates released a couple of days ago has come as a big relief for the three leaders as the allotment of tickets to Anantapur strongman J.C. Diwakar Reddy and his brother J.C. Prabhakar Reddy rekindled their hopes of securing tickets.
Mr. Pratap Reddy who was elected from Srisailam seat in the last elections has reportedly been selected for Panyam constituency in the same district while Mr. Venkatesh’s electoral prospects hang in the balance.
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Mr. Srinivasa Rao opted out of the Anakapalle Assembly seat and is hopeful of contesting from Visakhapatnam North seat.
But the constituency has become a bone of contention in the alliance between the Telugu Desam Party and the BJP as the two parties are keen on fielding their respective nominees.