TRS candidates waiting for KCR’s campaign

CM’s campaign would help curb rebel trouble

File photo of caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao addressing Praja Ashirwada Sabha in Siddipet district.

The TRS candidates who were already picked up by party president and caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to contest the coming elections are anxiously awaiting his election campaign in their respective constituencies, one to stem the rebel problem and the other to confirm their candidature.

This, at a time when Mr. Rao was said to be working out his route map to address public meetings as part of the campaign in 100 out of 119 Assembly constituencies in the State, almost the same number as in 2014. The dates and centres were being personally finalised by him, sources said.

The candidates were said to be vying with each other to have the meetings in their respective constituencies at the earliest. The competition was high among them to stem the rebel problem. They believed that the rebels will fall in line and support them once Mr. Rao sealed their candidature at the meetings. Some of them even met Mr. Rao to convey their preparedness to organise the meetings.

Another reason for competition to host Mr. Rao’s meetings was apprehension that the candidates may even be denied B-Form at the last minute, citing the protests against their candidature. If the meetings took place with the candidates sharing the dais with Mr. Rao, it was more or less confirmed that they will remain in fray till the end.

The candidates in 105 constituencies who were already picked up by the party to contest polls banked heavily on Mr. Rao’s tour to turn the tide in their favour. They expected Mr. Rao to maintain the tempo having kicked off the election campaign with a meeting at Husnabad 10 days ago but he took a break for reasons which the candidates were unable to fathom.

In this backdrop, they expected Mr. Rao to take up a whirlwind tour by addressing two meetings a day after the Ganesh immersion procession in Hyderabad on September 23.

It was likely that Mr. Rao will resume the electioneering after the break from a place in south Telangana since Husnabad where the first meeting took place was in northern parts of the State, sources said.