The list of candidates was announced hours after Pawan Kalyan attended the BC Atma Gourava Sabha held on 7 November, alongside PM Modi in Hyderabad.
PM Modi, Telangana BJP chief Kishan Reddy and Pawan Kalyan at Hyderabad BC meeting. (Supplied)
After a month-long negotiation between Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan and Telangana BJP leaders, the regional party on Tuesday, 7 November, released its list of eight candidates who will be contesting in the Telangana Assembly elections.
This marked the first time in 10 years since its inception that the Jana Sena was contesting in the Telangana Assembly polls.
The list of candidates was announced hours after Pawan Kalyan attended the BC Atma Gourava Sabha alongside PM Modi at the LB Nagar Stadium in Hyderabad.
The candidates are Mummareddy Prem Kumar (Kukatpally), Nemuri Shankar Goud (Tandur), M Satish Reddy (Kodad), Vanga Laxman Goud (Nagarkurnool), Miryala Ramakrishna (Khammam), L Surender Rao (Kothagudem), Tejawat Sampath Naik (Wyra-ST), and M Uma Devi (Aswaraopet-ST).
తెలంగాణ అసెంబ్లీ ఎన్నికలు: జనసేన పార్టీ అభ్యర్థుల జాబితా#TelanganaElection2023 pic.twitter.com/hFXrubYMEC
— JanaSena Party (@JanaSenaParty) November 7, 2023
As can be seen, two seats are reserved for candidates of Scheduled Tribes (STs), with the rest being in the general category. Additionally, there is only one woman on the list.
Pawan Kalyan reportedly agreed to give up the Serilingampally constituency in the Hyderabad region to the BJP, where the number of Andhra voters is high.
On 2 October, the Jana Sena announced its intention to contest the Telangana Assembly elections and released a list of candidates for 32 constituencies.
A few days later, the BJP requested that the Jana Sena not participate in the elections, but rather support it in Telangana.
However, Jana Sena leaders in Telangana expressed their desire to contest the polls, stating that the party had not yet tested the electoral waters in the state, and that it would also protect the interests of the workers.
The BJP agreed to Pawan Kalyan’s request on that front, and the discussions continued for a month, apparently delayed due to disagreement over two to three seats.
So far, the BJP has released four lists with a total of 100 candidates. The latest list, which includes 12 candidates, was released on Tuesday.
After finally announcing the candidates, the Jana Sena chief was poised to campaign in Telangana for candidates from both his party and the BJP, alongside the top brass of the saffron party.
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